What if it was different
by ayarian88
Summary: What if after Emily and Richard's vow renewal, Rory realized that Logan was right? What if she realized that she couldn't do the no-strings thing? What happens when a drunken encounter brings someone into her life that could be what she's been missing? Who will be there to pick-up the pieces and make everything better? Written by: Myself and Ashmo2000
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Hey Guys, got another GG story for you guys. This is the first one that I've written where I have a beta. But what better Beta to have then my bestie Ashmo2000. So here we go.

Okay, so this story picks up right after Richard and Emily's Vow Renewal. Everything before that is the same. Everything after…not so much. One change that I have made is that Lorelai and Chris never got married and she and Luke never broke up. I might incorporated some of the storyline in at some point throughout the story, I'm just not sure how yet. Oh and I'm gonna make Stephanie a permanent character in this story.

Prologue

 _Okay so what if after her almost hook-up with Logan, her grandparents vowel renewal, Rory realized that it was a mistake. What if she realized that Logan was right? She was special (and not the eat the paste kind of special), and that she really was a girlfriend kind of girl. So what does Rory do? What Rory does best…make a pro-con list and as usual the list won._

Rory POV

 _'I'm an idiot! I really thought that I could do the no strings thing.'_ I thought to myself as I sat at a table in the corner of the pub. I was on my fourth coffee, telling myself that I was an idiot, when I heard a voice.

"Hey, I know you." I heard. I looked up to see Logan's friend Finn, standing by my table.

"Hi, Finn." I said, trying to force a smile. "What brings you here?"

"To get drunk of course. You?" He asked as he sat down across from me.

"Regretting some recent decisions that I've made." I said.

Finn flags down the waitress and orders some shots. When she brings them back he tells her to leave the bottle and hands me one. "Drink up." I down the shot. "It can't be all that bad, Reporter Girl." He says.

After the fourth shot, I look at Finn and say, "I really thought that I could do it, you know? I thought that I could do the no-strings thing."

He grabs my hand, "Well, in my opinion…Logan's as ass for not snatching you up."

I smile at Finn. "Thanks Finny, your being really nice to me." I said.

"Reporter Girl, I do believe that your drunk." I smile and nod at Finn. "Come on, let's get you home."

Finn POV

She was so beautiful. I had liked her since I first saw her. But of course, Logan had to sweep in and try and claim her. I know that I tend to lean towards redheads, everyone knows that. However, I think that I might could be swayed to switch sides by the blue-eyed brunette goddess that is Rory Gilmore. I helped get her back to her dorm. Paris had let me in and get her in bed so that she could sleep it off. I left Rory a note on her bedside table with my number on it. I hoped that she would call me. When I left, I headed over to Logan's for the poker game. When I walked in, Logan looked at me. "What?" I asked.

"Where've you been?" He asked me.

"Pub. Ran into a friend. Had a couple drinks." I said. I hoped that he wouldn't figure out who I had ran into.

He shook his head. "Who's the friend?" He asked.

"A blue-eyed brunette." I said, walking over to the counter and grabbing the bottle of Scotch. This was gonna a long night, I could already tell. When I turned around, Logan was glaring at me.

"You had drinks with Rory?" He asked. I nodded. "She say anything?"

"Just that she regretted some recent decisions." I said.

Logan nodded. I could see in his face that he was a little hurt. He might be one of my best friends, but he honestly deserved this if he wasn't willing to make Rory Gilmore his girlfriend. I spent the rest of the night playing poker with the guys.

Rory POV

The next morning when I woke up, I sat up in my bed trying to remember what happened the night before. I looked over at my bedside table and see a folded note sitting there, so I grab it and open it to read.

 _"Rory,_

 _I really enjoyed talking and spending time with you. Give me a call if you wanna hang out later. 555-2167._

 _Finn"_

I sit the note back on the table and decide that I need a shower and then tacos. After taking a shower and then getting dressed, I decide to go get tacos. Before getting tacos, I decide that I need coffee. I stop at the coffee cart just outside my building. After I pay for my coffee, I turn around to see Logan.

"Of all the gin joints." He says.

"Logan, hi." I said.

"You avoiding me?" He asks.

"No. Just been busy." I say as the coffee cart guy hands me my coffee.

"You sure about that? Haven't seen you since…"

"Look, Logan, you were right. I shouldn't try to be something that I'm not." I say taking a drink of my coffee. "I gotta go but I'll see you around." I say before heading off to get tacos.

Finn POV

After leaving Logan's, I headed home to try and get a few hours of sleep. I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I picked it up and answered it, never even opening my eyes. "Bloody hell. This better be important." I said.

"Finn?" _Rory. It was her. She had seen my note and called me._ "Finn, you there?"

"Of course love. Sorry. I haven't gotten much sleep." I told her.

"Sorry I woke you. I just wanted to say thanks. Paris told me that you made sure that I got home okay last night." She says.

"It's no problem. I'm glad that you saw my note."

"Yes, I did. Saw it as soon as I woke up. It was very sweet. However, I did run into Logan this morning and now he thinks that I'm avoiding him." She said.

"Love, hate to break it to you, but you are kind of avoiding him."

"Yeah I know. Anyway, the reason for my call. I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out later. I was gonna have a Godfather marathon and order some Chinese food. Thought you might want to join me." She said.

"Sure love. 7-ish?" I ask.

"Sounds great. Bye Finn." She says and hangs up. I put my phone back on the bedside table and go back to sleep.

When I wake back up, I turn over and look at the clock. _2:30._ I decide to get up and shower. I needed to talk to Logan before I headed over to Rory's. His reaction last night to me having drinks with Rory was expected but it was still something that we needed to talk about. When I got out of the shower, I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. After getting dressed, I head over to Logan's and knock on his door. Surprisingly, he opens it a few minutes later. "Hey." I say.

"Hey man. What's up?" He says, opening the door and letting me in.

I stuff my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. "I was hoping that we could talk…about Rory." I say.

Logan raises an eyebrow at me at first but then he nods. He walks over to his counter and grabs a bottle of Scotch and two glasses. "Go ahead…talk." Logan says, pouring each of us a drink.

"How do you really feel about Rory?" I ask.

"Honestly man, I don't know. I mean, I like her but I can't be that _guy_. I can't be the boyfriend guy. It's not me. You, on the other hand…I can see you being that guy. You can be that for her." Logan says to me and then downs his drink.

"You know, man, part of me thinks that I can…but the other part of me thinks that all she'll see me as is the drunk guy that can't ever remember her name." I tell him, taking a drink of the Scotch.

"Look, man…I get it. I haven't seen you this worked up about a girl since Switzerland."

"I haven't felt this way about a girl since then." I say. Logan and I sit and talk about everything for the next few hours. I look at my watch and see that it's almost 6. I needed to head out. I needed to pick up something on my way to Rory's. "I gotta go man. I'll see you later." I tell him and head out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys! Here you go…the next chapter.

Chapter 1

Finn POV

When I left Logan's, I headed into New Haven to the flower shop to pick up some flowers for Rory. She was an incredible person and she deserved the world. I just hoped that I could be the one to give it to her. When I left the flower shop, I headed back to campus and toward Rory's dorm. Maybe Logan was right. Maybe I could be that guy for Rory.

Rory POV

After talking to Finn and inviting him over to join me in my _Godfather_ marathon, I headed to the video store to get the movies and then over to the mini-mart near campus to pick up the snacks. When I got back to campus, I stopped at the coffee cart to grab a coffee. I bumped into Stephanie. "Oh hey Steph." I said.

"Hey there Reporter Girl. How you been?" She said.

"Not bad. I gotta run though. Can we catch up later though?"

"Sure thing. I'll call you." She said.

I grabbed my coffee and headed back to my dorm. When I walked in, Paris was pacing around our common room. I sat my stuff down on the coffee table and turned to Paris. "Paris, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"I'm meeting Doyle's parents tonight and I want to make a good impression." Paris said.

"Paris, its going to be fine. Your outfit on the other hand…" I said.

"What's wrong with my outfit?"

"It screams Hartford, not New Haven." It took a minute but then she nodded. "Go find something in my closet." I tell her and she heads to my room. I walk over to the coffee table where I had set everything, and started unpacking the bags. My cell phone starts ringing, so I pull it out of my back pocket answer it. "Hey Mom." I say.

"Hey sweets. So…I wanted to see how things were. I haven't talked to you since…you know." Mom says. Mom and Grandma weren't speaking since Grandma and Grandpa's vowel renewal, when Grandma had invited Dad in an attempt to give him hope that he still had a chance with Mom.

"Things are…there okay. After I got home that night, I realized that Logan was right. I am a girlfriend girl. And I kind of felt like an idiot for trying to change that. So, I got drunk with Finn, he helped me home and then this morning I ran into Logan and told him that I couldn't do the no-strings thing." I told her, putting the rest of the snacks on the coffee table. I sat down on the couch to finish my coffee and talk to Mom.

"Wow kid. That's some week you've had. So what're your plans tonight?" She asked me.

"Tonight, I am having a _Godfather_ marathon…with Finn." I said.

"Rory…"

"Mom…"

"Kid, that's Logan's best friend and you just kind of dropped Logan, do you really think that this is the best idea?"

Paris walks out in one of my dresses and I nodded. I go back to my conversation with Mom, "Look, Mom, I appreciate your concern…but I didn't drop Logan. We almost hooked up but nothing really happened. If anything happens with Finn then I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I tell her. Paris grabs her stuff and heads out. "Look, I gotta go, Finn should be here anytime and I gotta order food. But we'll talk soon, okay?"

"Sure, kid." Mom says and hangs up.

When I hang up with Mom, I quickly order Chinese food and Pizza (my usual food for a movie night) and then I change into my Yale sweats. As I'm coming out of my room, there's a knock at the door.

Finn POV

When Rory opens her door, she's standing there wearing her Yale sweats, and even though it's something so simple, she looks amazing. "Hi Rory." I say.

"Hey Finn." She says and then points to the flowers I'm holding. "Those for me?" She asks.

Oh. "Yeah, here you go." I said and handed them to her.

"Well, thanks Finn.. their lovely, but you really didn't have to." Rory said with a nervous look.

"I surely did. Isn't it the proper thing to bring a gift to your hostess?" I said quickly. _I wondered if perhaps it was a little impulsive to give flowers as this isn't really a date. Is it?_

"It's really sweet of you, but I invited you to a movie marathon, not a society night out." Rory chuckled.

"Ah yes, I am impulsive as you know, but I'd be dead to rights if the etiquette queen found me lacking." I said in posh accent or whatever counts as a royal accent.

"Etiquette queen? Who's that? I don't plan on reporting you to the 'politeness police', Finn. If I did that, I wouldn't have any friends." Rory laughed quietly. _Alright so that's what this is. Just two friends hanging out. I'm not sure if I 'just' want to be friends. Well, let's see how tonight goes and maybe I'll only want to be is friends. But that's not all that I want and I know that deep down Rory knows that too…but maybe the best place to start is being friends._

"So…what kind of food are we looking at tonight?" I asked.

I followed Rory through the door and into her common room. As soon as my eyes hit the coffee table, I see that it is covered with food. "What do you think?" She asked me. I was about to answer when there was at knock at the door. Rory went to answer the door and a few minutes later came back with more food. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

"That's a lot of food." I said.

"You can't have too much food for a movie marathon." She said and smiled at me.

Rory POV

Once Finn and I got situated on the couch, I started the first movie. For some reason I wasn't able to focus on the movie. I couldn't help but think about him showing up with flowers. I was honestly surprised…I mean, it wasn't a date…was it? We sat there and watched the movie.

Finn POV

About halfway through the second movie, Rory had moved from her spot at the other end of the couch to laying against me. By the end of the movie, I looked down and Rory had fallen asleep. I gently picked her up and carried her to her room to put her to bed. I laid her in her bed. I kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Rory." I said before turning to leave.

"Finn…" I heard Rory say, causing me to turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Was this a date?" She asked.

"I wanted it to be."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Rory POV

The next morning, I got up and ready for the day. I stopped by the coffee cart on my way to class. Problem was, I was having a hard time focusing. I couldn't get my mind off what Finn had said the night before. He had wanted last night to be a date. What did that even mean? Was Mom right? Was this the right time to jump into a relationship with Logan's best friend after what almost happened at Grandma and Grandpa's vow renewal? I couldn't focus on that right now, I needed to try and focus on my classes at the moment.

After classes that day, I headed over to the paper. I had a little bit of work to do for my article before I finalized it. I was sitting at my desk working on my article, when I briefly looked up from my computer to see Logan standing. "What're you doing?" I asked him.

"I saw you sitting at your desk when I walked by, so I thought that I would come say hi." Logan said.

"Okay." I said, kind of surprised. "Well, hi." I said. I pointed to my computer, "I kind of need to finish this, so, I'll see you."

"Yeah, look forward to reading it. Oh just so you know, Finn's a better man than me." Logan said before walking away.

Finn POV

When I had finished with my classes for the day, I decided to go by Rory's and talk to her about the night before. I had been thinking about it all day and I had decided to tell her how I felt about her. Logan had given me the go ahead, so maybe I needed to make a move.

I stopped by a coffee cart to grab us both a coffee before going to see her. When I got to her dorm and knocked, it didn't take her long to open the door. "Hey." She said when she opened the door. "This is a surprise." I handed her the cup of coffee that I got for her. "Thanks." She said opening the door to let me in.

"Yeah, I was nearby and I thought I would stop by and bring you some coffee." I told her as we walked into the common room and sat on the couch.

"Well that was nice. Thanks. I needed it after the day that I've had." She said.

"I was also hoping that we could talk." I said.

She looked over at me after taking a drink of her coffee. "Sure. What's on your mind?" She said.

I took a deep breath. "Rory, I have feelings for you. I have since I met you. You said that you couldn't do the no-strings thing with Logan. Well, I'm not asking for no-strings. To start I'm just asking for one date." I said.

Rory POV

Finn wanted to go out with me. I mean, I did like Finn. He was funny and he could make me laugh, but what about Logan? Was this what Logan was hinting at when he was at the paper earlier? "You like me and have feelings for me?" I asked.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I do." He said.

Wow. This was definitely different. But obviously I was feeling something for Finn, I just didn't know what it was. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was friendship or if my feelings were deeper. What could one date hurt? I smiled at Finn. "Okay." I said.

"Okay, you'll go on a date with me?" He said and I nodded.

"Yeah. I will. I want to be honest though. I don't know if my feelings run deeper than friendship, but I want to find out." I said, reaching for Finn's hand.

"I understand Rory. It's been a while since I've dated anyone seriously." Finn said.

"I understand Finn. I mean you were there when my last relationship ended, so I completely understand. I mean, if we both ended up having the same feelings then I would want to take things slow…if that's okay?" I said.

"Rory, here's what I suggest." Finn started as I took a drink of my coffee. "I say, that we take things slow and see what happens. What do you think?"

"That sounds perfect." I said. "So when should our first date be?" I asked.

"How about tomorrow? Do you have any plans tomorrow?" Finn asked.

"Nope, my schedule is wide open."

"Great. Then I'll pick you up at 7." He said.

After Finn left, I realized that I needed to talk to Mom. She may have had a point in what she was saying yesterday, but it didn't change the fact that I might have feelings for Finn. But there was also someone else that I needed to talk to…someone who knew both Logan and Finn very well…Stephanie. I picked up my phone and called Steph. "Hey Reporter Girl." She said when she answered.

"Hey are you busy?" I asked.

"Not really. Just hanging out with the boys, watching them drink themselves into a stupor in the dorms." She said.

"Okay, can you meet me at the pub? I could use someone to talk to right now." I said.

"Sure thing. I'll be there in ten." She said and hung up.

I walked into my room and grabbed my jacket and my keys and then headed out the door. Steph would definitely have some insight. Hopefully she could help me figure all of this out before I talked to Mom.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Steph POV

When I hung up with Rory, I got up from my spot on Logan and Colin's couch. "That was Rory?" Logan asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I gotta go. Girl talk. See ya." I said, grabbing my stuff and walking out the door. I wasn't sure what Rory wanted to talk about but my guess was that it probably had to do with Logan…maybe even Finn. I had noticed that ever since Rory's article about the LDB, Finn had been distracted. It didn't help that yesterday, Logan and Colin were talking about how he had drinks with her the night of the poker game.

I made my way over the pub. When I walked in, I found Rory sitting in a booth in the back. I walked back and joined her. "Hey girly." I said.

"Hey, thanks for coming." She said.

"No problem. You order yet?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah I got a bottle of Tequila and shot glasses coming." She said.

"Cool. So, what's on your mind?" I asked.

"Okay, so you've been friends with Logan and Finn for a while right?" She asked.

"Logan…since we were kids. Our parents are friends. Finn, we've been friends since high school. Is everything okay?"

The waitress came and brought the tequila. I poured us each a shot. "Okay, well Logan and I had been dancing around each other for weeks and we almost hooked at my grandparents vow renewal last weekend, and he told me that he wasn't the boyfriend type. Well, after that I realized that I couldn't do no strings." She said and I nodded, pouring another shot. "So, the other night I was here drowning my sorrows in alcohol when Finn spotted me."

"Yeah, keep going." I said.

"So, he joined me for a couple of drinks and we talked. Then yesterday, I was at the paper when Logan came in and told me that Finn was a better man than him. Then last night, Finn shows up and tells me that he has feelings for me and asked me out." She said, and then downed her shot.

"Okay. So, what is it that you want to know?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure. I guess, I just wanna know if you think that I'm doing the right thing going on a date with him?" She asked.

I poured another shot for each of us. We both downed our shots. "Look, here's the thing. Finn's a sweetheart. He doesn't do relationships often because he's afraid of getting hurt. His last girlfriend hurt him pretty bad. But I will say this…Logan, Colin and Finn are like the three stooges. If one of them liked a girl and then another one ends up liking her…they don't make a move without talking to each other." I said and she nodded. "What I'm saying, is that if Logan is telling you that Finn is a better man than he is…then he and Finn have already talked and Logan has cleared the way for Finn to make his move." I said.

Rory POV

Steph and I sat there and talked for a while and drank before we went our separate ways. I headed home. I needed to call Mom and tell her what was going on. I had a date with Finn tomorrow and then Friday I was heading to Stars Hollow. When I walked into my dorm, Paris wasn't there thank god, I didn't want to have to explain anything at the moment. I walked into my room and shut the door. I pulled my cell and called Mom. "Hi sweets." She said when she answered.

"Hi Mom, you got a minute." I said.

"For you, of course." I sat on my bed and told her everything. I was sure that she was going to tell me that I was screwing up but she actually surprised me. "Well, kiddo, it sounds to me that he really likes you, especially if he talked to the guy that you almost hooked with."

"Who happens to be his best friend." I said.

"Yep."

"Okay, well I gotta get to bed, but I'll tell you everything when I come home Friday."

"Sounds good sweets. Meet at Lukes?"

"Sure Mom, sounds great." I said and hung up. I decided to take a shower and go to bed.

Finn POV

After I left Rory's, I headed to my dorm. I couldn't believe it. She'd agreed to go on a date with me. I was sitting in my common room on the couch, when my door opened. "What the hell did you do?" Steph asked slamming the door behind her.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

She walked over to my liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of rum and then joined me on the couch. "Don't you wanna know where I just came from?" She asked me.

"Where've you been Steph?" I asked.

She poured us each a drink. "I just came from the pub, where I had drinks with Rory."

"That's nice." I said, taking my drink from her, downing it.

"Does Logan know what your up to?"

I nod. "Yes, Logan knows. He's known since the night that I had drinks with her."

"And?"

"He wasn't happy about it at first but once we hashed it all out, he told me that he was okay with it." I said.

"Did you know that he went to see Rory?" _What? Logan had gone to see Rory?_ "No, well I'll tell you what she told me. Logan told her that you're a better man than he is." Steph said.

"Wow." I said.

"Yeah. So, what's your plan? Cause let me tell you…she's different."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know Steph. There's something about her. I can't get my mind off her. She's all I think about." I said.

"Just don't hurt her. Cause I'm pretty sure that if you do, Logan'll be there to try and pick up the pieces." Steph said, before getting up and walking out.

Rory POV

The next day after I finished my last class, I headed back to my dorm. I showered and started getting ready for my date. I had texted Finn to find out how I needed to dress and he said casual. I asked if it was blue jean casual and he said yeah. I was grateful for that because I really didn't feel like wearing a dress. I decided to curl my hair though. Something that I didn't do very often. After I was dressed, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:45. Finn should be here soon. For the first time, in a long time I was actually excited about a first date.

At 7 o'clock on the dot, there was a knock at the door. I walked out of my room, wearing my coat. I went to open the door.

Finn POV

When Rory opened the door, even though she was wearing blue jeans, she looked amazing. "Hi." I said.

"Hi." She said.

"You ready to go?" I asked.

She nodded. "Sure." As we were walking to my car, she asked "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, but I promise you'll like it." I said and she nodded.

When we pulled into the parking lot, she looked at me confused. "Uh, Finn?"

"Yes, kitten?"

"This is the parking lot of a hotel." She said.

"Your observant." I said. "It's not just a hotel. There's a restaurant inside." She nodded and we got out of the car. When I walked around the car to join her, I reached for her hand. We headed toward the entrance. I led Rory over to the restaurant and the hostess led us to our table. We ordered our drinks. "I hope that you don't mind, but the chef here is a close friend of the family. I got him to make something special tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Can I ask what we're having?" Rory asked.

"Sure. It's shrimp alfredo with garlic knots and Italian salad. I hope you like Italian food?" I said.

The waitress came back with our drinks. "I love Italian food." Rory said, taking a sip of her drink.

Rory POV

The restaurant was nice. During dinner, I learned that Finn's family owned a chain of hotels throughout the world. Finn and I talked about our families. When we were finished with dinner, Finn told the waitress to bring out dessert.

Once we had finished eating, Finn and I headed back to campus. We were walking back to my dorm. "Dinner was really good." I said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Finn said.

"I really did. And the dessert…it was incredible." I said, as we reached my dorm. "I had a good time, Finn."

"I'm glad Rory." Finn said. We both stood there for a minute, before either of us made a move. I was about to ask Finn if he wanted to come in for coffee, when he grabbed my hand pulling me to him and kissing me. I felt myself melt into him. It was one of the best first kisses I had ever had. When he pulled back, I stood there staring at him. "Do you want to come in for coffee?" I asked, as he took a small step back.

I noticed that Finn had this goofy looking smile on his face. "I'd love to." He said.

I unlocked my door and we went inside. Finn closed the door behind him and went to sit on the couch while I went to start the coffee. While the coffee was brewing I joined Finn on the couch. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I asked him.

"I did. I'm glad that you agreed to have dinner with me." Finn said. I looked at Finn and smiled. I really wanted to kiss him again. "Rory?"

"I know that we said that we were going to take things slow, but I was wondering how you were feeling about our date?" Finn asked him.

I wasn't sure how to word it. "I know. I feel good about it…and that kiss was incredible." I said.

"So, does that mean that you'd want to do it again?"

I smiled at him. "The date or the kiss?"

"Both?"

"Absolutely. Now about that coffee?" I said.

Finn POV

When I left Rory's I headed over to Logan's. I had learned something about Rory that I wasn't sure if the others knew. When I walked in, the guys were sitting there playing poker. "Hey man, how was your date?" Colin asked me.

"Shut up, Colin." I said, quickly looking for something to drink. We were all gonna need some alcohol to process this. I grabbed Logan's bottle of scotch and joined them at the poker table.

"Finn, what's wrong?" Steph asked me from the couch.

"Guys, I gotta tell you something." I said, pouring a drink and immediately downing it. "Do you guys know who Rory's family is?"

"The Gilmores." Logan said.

"And…the Haydens." I said.

"Seriously?" Steph asked, joining us at the table.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't know why I didn't put the pieces together sooner. Do you guys remember when we were kids, listening to our parents talk about the scandal of 84?" Logan said. Everyone nodded, except me.

"What's the scandal of 84?" I asked.

"The Gilmores daughter and the Haydens son, had been together for a few years and then suddenly right before the debutante ball, the Gilmores found out that their daughter was pregnant. Everyone was furious. They insisted that they get married, but they didn't. Then a few months after the baby was born, their daughter up and disappeared out of nowhere. Was no longer seen in society. Guys…Rory's the baby of the 84 scandal." Logan said.

"Wow." Steph said.

"I can't even imagine. I mean she's one of us…only she didn't grow up like us." Colin said.

"I don't even know how to process all of this." I said, pouring another drink.

"Well for one thing, you need to make sure that your serious about her before going to any functions together." Logan said. "God please don't let my mother find out. She'll have a field day with it. I can see the headline now: HUNTZBERGER-GILMORE-HAYDEN FAMILIES UNITE. If my mother finds out about Rory she's going to try and set us up." Logan said.

Steph gave me a look that Logan and Colin didn't notice, thank god. "I'm gonna head home. I'm tired." I said. "I see you guys later." I got up and left.

Steph POV

When Finn walked out the door, he unintentionally slammed it. "What's with him?" Logan asked.

"Huntz, you know how he is. He's afraid that your gonna end up with Rory when he really cares about her." I said.

"I was talking about my mother…not me."

"It doesn't matter. He'll be ok. He just needs time." I said. "I'm out of here. See ya."

Rory POV

When I woke up the next day, I woke up happy. I looked forward to seeing Finn for lunch like we had agreed upon. The morning seemed to pass quickly. I was on my way to the pub to meet Finn for lunch when I heard my name across campus. "Dad?" I said, confused. I hadn't seen him since the wedding and he had called a couple of times leaving voicemails that he was sorry that he got so drunk. "Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I needed to see you kiddo." Dad said.

"Well, I'm on my way to the pub to meet a friend for lunch. Wanna join us?" I said.

"Sure thing kid." Dad said, and I led the way to the pub.

"I'm sorry I haven't called you back. It's been a busy week." I said. "Classes, paper, and I had a date last night." I said.

"Well you're a busy kid. I'm sure your Mom has to get you to schedule her in." Dad said.

"Pretty much. I'm actually going home this weekend." I told him.

"How is your mom?" He asked.

"She's good. She was able to fix any problem that Grandma might have tried to cause. Neither she nor Luke is mad at you though. You were just as much a victim as they were." I told him.

"Luke seems like a good guy." Dad said.

"He really is Dad. Mom's happy." I said, right as we got to the Pub. We walked in and I immediately found Finn. "Hey." I said to him.

"Hey. I ordered you a coffee…but I didn't know that you were bringing someone with you." Finn said.

"Finn this is my dad…Christopher Hayden." I said. "Dad, this is Finn…my boyfriend." I said. I looked at Finn and saw his face light up.

Finn POV

 _Rory's dad…and did she just call me her boyfriend?_ "It's nice to meet you sir." I said.

"Call me Chris." He said.

"I've heard a lot about you from my father." I said.

"Really? Who's your father?" He asked me.

"James Morgan, sir." I told him.

"Oh yes. I've known James for many years. My father is actually his attorney. Has been for many years."

"Dad, you want a coffee? It's really good here." Rory asked her dad.

"Sounds good kid. I'll get it though kid. You guys want anything?" Chris asked.

"I already order me and Rory some food. I would have ordered you something, had I known." I said.

"It's alright. I'll be back." Chris said, walking towards the bar to place his order.

I turned to Rory. "Sorry, he surprised me when I was headed here." She said.

"It's okay…" I said leaning closer to her and giving her a quick kiss. "So…boyfriend huh?" I asked.

She hit my chest. "Shut up, don't get a big ego. Okay?"

"Whatever you say."

Lorelai POV

I was walking back to the Inn after lunch at Luke's when my cell rang. I pulled it out of my purse and saw that Chris was calling. Rory had called me and told me that he surprised her at campus for lunch. I quickly answered. "Hi Chris." I said.

"Hey Lore. How are you?" He said.

"I'm good. Headed back to work. Rory said that you surprised her for lunch."

"Yeah. Rory said that you aren't mad about last weekend."

"I'm mad, just not at you. My mother had no right doing what she did and I'm sorry that you got dragged into it." I told him.

"I'm sorry that I drank too much."

"SO, is there a reason for this call. I got a lot to do before I have to meet Rory for dinner tonight."

"Yes, actually. Did you know that Rory was dating someone?" He asked me.

"Yeah, it's new. She's on this whole experiencing college life kick."

"Well, when I met her for lunch today, he was there."

"Oh. What'd you think?" I asked.

"Seems like a decent kid. Wanna know what I found out?"

"Duh."

"You remember James?"

"Your best friend? Yeah of course."

"It's his son. Apparently, James has talked about me to him."

"Wow. I ran away from that life and Rory's practically running toward it."

"Lore, it's not that bad."

"If you say so. I just don't want to see her get sucked in. Next thing you know my mother is going to be asking her to join the DAR." I said.

"Lore, Rory's a good kid, but this is something that she has to decide for herself. I'm guessing that you haven't told her yet." Chris said, reminding me of our conversation the previous week.

"Not yet. I was planning on bringing it up this weekend. Chris, I don't know if she's going to want to do it. I mean the last time we were all in a room together they basically said that she was the reason that neither of us stuck to the dynastic plan." I said, walking up the driveway to the inn. "I can't promise anything but I'll talk to her."

"Okay. I gotta go Lore." Chris said.

"Bye Chris." I said and hung up.

This wasn't going to be good. Rory wasn't going to like it.

A/N: Okay so this chapter ended up being 11 pages. It's the most that I've written in a while. Hope that you guys enjoyed it. What could Chris and Lorelai be up to? And no it's not an arranged marriage. Let me know what you guys think.


	5. Chapter 5

Rory POV

After lunch with Dad and Finn, the rest of the day seem to fly by. When I walked into my dorm, Paris was pacing around. "Paris, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Doyle's ignoring my calls." She said.

"Okay. I'm sorry. Why don't you go to the pub and get a drink?"

"Come with me."

"I can't. I gotta grab my bag. I'm going home this weekend. Mom said that she needed to talk to me about something." I told her as I walked towards my room.

"When will you be back?" She asked.

"Sunday, like always." I said, setting my messenger bag on my desk and changing my jacket to my blue jean one. I grabbed my duffel bag and walked back out to the common room. "Look, go get a drink. It'll help you relax, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

I went to leave the dorm. I opened the door and was about to walk out when I found Logan standing in my doorway. "Logan, hi." I said.

"Hey, going somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm going home this weekend." I told him as I walked out and shut the door behind me, locking it. I turned back toward him and noticed that he was staring at me. "Something on your mind?"

"Did I see you earlier walking around campus with Christopher Hayden." He said.

I started walking toward the parking lot, to my car. Logan followed me. "Yep, you sure did." I said. "Is that a problem?"

"Just curious. How do you know the Haydens?" He asked me.

I stopped walking. "Honestly?" He nodded. "The Haydens are my father's family." I said.

"But you're a Gilmore." He said.

"You want full disclosure Logan. Here it is." I said, putting my bag in the back seat. "I'm the scandal of 84, my mother is Lorelai Gilmore the second and my father is Christopher Hayden. Any more questions?" I said and he shook his head. "Good. I have somewhere that I need to be." I said, opening my driver door and got in my car.

Finn POV

Rory was heading to Stars Hollow for the weekend. She said that her mom had asked her to come home that weekend because they needed to talk about some stuff. I was kind of ticked off at Logan because the night before he had been ranting about Rory and his mother. It really irritated me. Lunch today, had made it a little better. I was laying on my bed when my cell started ringing. I quickly looked at the caller ID, seeing that it was Rory I answered. "Hi Luv." I said.

"Hey so I'm coming out of my dorm not to long ago and I got ambushed." Rory said.

I sat up. "What do you mean you got ambushed?" I asked.

"Logan. When I walked out of my dorm, he was standing there. He saw me walking around campus today with Dad. Started asking me a bunch of questions." She said.

"Okay, don't worry about Logan. I'll take care of it." I told her. "Just have a good time with your Mom."

"Thanks Finn. I'll call you when I get back." She said and then hung up. I was pissed. Logan told her that he couldn't do the whole relationship thing. He told me that I would be better for her than he would. So what was he up to now?

I scrolled through my contacts and sent him a text.

 _F: Where are you?_

It didn't take him long to respond.

 _L: Pub._

I closed my phone and jumped off my bed. I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door. I had to talk to Logan and find out why he was questioning Rory about her family. I practically ran to the Pub. When I got there, Logan was sitting by himself in the back corner.

Logan POV

 _What the hell was wrong with me? I told Rory that I couldn't do strings. I stepped aside because honestly Finn is better for her than I am. And then everything clicked last night when Finn started talking about Rory's family. If my parents find out who she is, they would want us to get married. Their reasoning would be that we would be joining three of the most prominent families not only in Hartford but on the east coast. However, I could never do that Finn. No matter how bad my parents wanted it. I've seen the way that Finn looks at Rory. He may not realize it yet, but he was in love with Rory. And I couldn't just tell either._

I was sitting in the back booth when my phone beeped with a new text. I opened my phone to read the text.

 _F: where are you?_

I knew where this was headed. Rory had called me. I probably freaked her out with my questions about her family. I quickly text him back telling him that I was at the pub. I knew that it wouldn't take him long to come find me and hash it out. Steph had told me to expect this, which was why I was at the Pub. As soon as I texted him back I ordered him a drink. It took him less time than I expected to get to the pub.

"Hey." I said, when he sat in the booth across from me.

"Hey. Where's Colin?"

Rory POV

After hanging up with Finn, I felt better. I mean I know that Logan had to have known who my Dad was. I mean he was at the wedding last weekend. Oh well. Finn said that he would handle Logan and I was going to trust him to do just that. The rest of my drive to Stars Hollow was uneventful. I hadn't planned on coming home this weekend but Mom had insisted. She said that she needed to talk to me and that it was important. I hoped that she wasn't going to tell me that Grandma wanted to set me up again. Granted that would involve them actually speaking to each other. When I pulled into the driveway, I grabbed my bag and took it in the house before heading to Luke's to meet Mom.

When I walked into Luke's I was surprised that Mom was already there. "Hey." I said, as I joined her at the counter.

"Hey kid. You made good time." Mom said.

"Yeah and that was after Logan ambushed me." I told her.

"Logan ambushed you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, apparently he saw me walking around campus with Dad. So he decided to question me about the tall mystery man that I was walking with. So probably come Monday, half of Yale will know who I am."

"Aw..It'll be okay kid. You wanna get food and take it home or eat here." Mom said.

"We can eat here. That's fine." I told her.

"So…your Dad called. Said that he met Finn."

Luke came over and poured me a cup of coffee. "Usual?" Luke asked me.

I nodded, "Yes please." Luke walked into the kitchen and I turned to Mom. "So, yeah. Dad met Finn. I was on my way to meet Finn for lunch when Dad showed up. Did you know that Dad is friends with Finn's Dad?"

Mom took a drink of her coffee and nodded. "I did actually. See here's the thing kid. Your Chilton friends, your Yale friends…all of their parents, plus your Dad and me…we all run in the same circle. I ran from that life. Do I love that you are running toward that life? No. But your dad reminded me that, I have to let you make that decision."

I took a drink of my coffee. "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes and No."

"Okay…what else?" I asked.

"Okay, and please remember…don't shoot the messenger. And listen to everything before you start complaining." Mom said and I nodded. "Okay, so a while back your Dad called and said that Straub had gotten sick. Anyway the last Doctor's appointment that they went to, indicated that he was getting worse. Rory, your Dad moved back to Hartford. He's taken over your Grandfather's law firm. And…your grandparents are asking to see you. Tomorrow." Mom said.

"No." I said.

"Rory.."

"Mom… the last time that I saw them they said that I was the reason that you and Dad didn't stick to the dynastic plan." I said, taking a bite of my cheeseburger.

"What do you know about the dynastic plan?" Mom asked me.

"It doesn't matter."

Later that night, Mom and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie when I decided to negotiate. "I'll go on two conditions." I said.

Mom paused the movie. "What are they?" Mom asked.

"I want to invite Finn and I want you to go to." I said.

"Rory… you know that I hate those people."

"Do it for me?" I said, smiling.

"Gah! Fine. I'll call your Dad. You call Finn. Tell him he can come here if he doesn't want to go to Hartford."

"Thanks Mom." I said.

I got up and walked into my room. I pulled my phone out and call Finn. "Hi, Kitten." He said when he answered.

"Hey, so I sort of have a favor to ask."

"Anything."

"Okay so apparently my dad's parents want to see me tomorrow and I told mom that the only way that I would go is if you could come." I said.

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. So, Mom said that you can come here if you don't want to go to Hartford." I told him.

Finn POV

 _Rory wanted me to come there. This was huge._ "You want me to come tonight?" I asked.

"Yes please. My dad's meeting us for breakfast in the morning before we go over there." Rory said.

"Yeah I can be there in an hour." I told her.

"Great I'll tell mom. Oh and when you get here, make sure you call her Lorelai or else she's not going to let you in the house." She told me.

"Okay, luv. I'll see you in an hour."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Finn POV

After I hung up with Rory, I looked at Logan. "I gotta go. Rory needs my help. Just back off okay?" I said.

Logan nodded. "Look, I just had my Mom in my head. I'm good now. Tell Rory I'm sorry." Logan said.

"You can tell her yourself when you see her." I said, and he nodded. I got up and walked out of the pub, heading back to my dorm to pack a bag and head to Stars Hollow. When I got to my dorm, I quickly packed a bag for the weekend and headed to my car.

Stars Hollow here I come…

Rory POV

After hanging up with Finn, I walked back out to the living room to find Mom sitting there with a stunned look on her face. I walked over to the couch and sat down. "Mom?"

She turned and looked at me. "Rory, hey did you talk to Finn?"

"Yeah he'll be here in an hour."

"Okay, that's good."

"Mom…what's wrong?"

"Your dad and Finn and Luke should all be here around the same time."

 _What?_ "You're kidding right?" I asked, and Mom shook her head. "What are we gonna do?"

"Drink lots of coffee?"

"Be serious. Mom, Dad and Luke hate each other."

"Luke doesn't per say hate your Dad, he just doesn't trust him." Mom said.

"Maybe. But Dad definitely hates Luke."

"Yeah well your dad is your dad. There's no changing that." Mom said, getting up and walking to the kitchen. I followed her. "So, does Finn know why he's coming down here?"

"Yeah, he's knows about my complicated history with the absentee grandparents and that I only agreed to go if you and him went with me." I said, as I sat at the kitchen table. "What'd Dad say about it?"

Mom shrugged her shoulders. "For your dad it's weird. He never thought that he'd see the day when his parents would be asking to see you."

"Why would they? They have Gigi…they don't need me, even if I am older." I said, as Mom turned around and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Oh kid. Can I ask you something?" Mom said, as she grabbed her own cup of coffee and joined me at the table.

"Sure Mom, what's on your mind?"

"With you being at Yale, and having your Hartford friends now…do you ever wish that you had grown up in that life?" Mom asked me.

"Mom, I loved how I grew up. We've had amazing times."

"But?"

"But…sometimes I do think that it would have been nice growing up in that life because maybe Straub and Francine would have had a relationship with me and maybe Dad would have been around more." I said. "But know this Mom…I don't regret anything about how I grew up…except maybe Taylor."

"And Kirk."

"Yep." Mom and I both said at the same time. Mom and I sat there for a while and waited until the guys got there. About forty-five minutes later, we heard a knock at the door. I got up and walked to the front door and opened it. Sure enough Mom was right, they had all arrived at the same time. The first person that I saw was Luke. "Hey Luke, Mom's in the kitchen." I told him. He nodded and made his way to the kitchen. The next person to come in was Dad. "Hey Dad." I said, hugging him.

"Hey kiddo. Your mom's in the kitchen, making more coffee I assume." Dad said.

"Yeah." I said, and he headed to the kitchen. Finn was the last one standing in the doorway. I turned to him and smiled. "Hi." I said, with a small smile.

He walked in and grabbed my hand pulling me to him. "Hi. Miss me?" He said.

"Absolutely." I said, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm glad you're here."

"Now that I am. Let's get some coffee." He said. I nodded, and we made our way to the kitchen. What I wasn't expecting was the scene that we walked into.

"Why wouldn't you tell me that before I got her to agree to go!" Mom said to Dad.

"Because I was scared okay!" Dad said.

"What's going on in here?" I asked.

Lorelai POV

Rory had gone to answer the door. I felt like I was frozen to my chair. Rory had agreed to go see Straub and Francine, but I had to go with her. It was no secret that they didn't like me. They had always blamed me for Chris not going to Princeton. But what was worse was that they tried to blame Rory. It didn't bother me that they blamed me but it did bother me that they blamed her. I mean, she's their granddaughter but for some reason they didn't see it that way. To them Gigi was their only granddaughter…or at least that's the way it's been up until Chris called the other day.

Straub was sick. He had been diagnosed with Brain Cancer. It was terminal. Chris said that Straub had been regretting some things in his life and apparently one of those things was not having a relationship with Rory. Francine too. Chris said that they wanted to see Rory and talk to her. When I called him and told him that Rory wanted me and Finn to go with her, he said that wasn't a problem just as long as she came. I couldn't help but have this feeling that something else was going on.

"Hey." Luke said.

I looked up. "Hi babe." I said and gave Luke a quick kiss.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah just got lost in my thoughts." I told him. Chris walked in. "Hey." I said.

He sat a bottle of tequila on the table. "Hey Lore, Luke." Chris said.

"What is that for?" I asked.

"We need to talk." He said. I pointed to the cabinet behind him where the glasses were. He grabbed five glasses and sat them on the table.

"What's going on?"

"Apparently, my father changed his will and has named Rory as his heir." Chris said.

"Why wouldn't you tell me that before I got her to agree to go!" I said.

"Because I was scared okay!" Chris said.

"What's going on in here?" Rory asked. The three of us turned and looked at Rory and Finn standing in the entryway to the kitchen. "Anybody gonna say anything?"

"There's been some new developments about our lunch tomorrow." I said.

"Meaning?" Rory asked.

"My father changed his will." Chris said.

"Okay. What does that have to do with me?" Rory said.

Rory POV

"He named you as his heir." Finn said, causing me to turn and look at him.

"What? Why would you say that?" I asked him.

"It's true." Dad said.

"Okay. I need a drink." I said. Mom held up a glass and handed it to me. "Thanks." I downed it. "More." Mom poured me a drink and handed it back. I downed that one. I walked over to the table and sat down beside Mom. "Why?" I asked Dad as he was pouring everyone else drinks and I felt Finn's hand on my shoulder.

Dad handed out the drinks. "I'm not exactly sure to be honest. All I know is that ever since he found out that he was sick he's been talking about regrets." Dad said.

"And I'm one of them?" I asked.

"The biggest one. He and Mom said that their biggest regret was what they said to you when you were sixteen." Dad said.

I couldn't believe it. Now they regretted it. "So now what? They want a relationship with me?" Dad nodded. I grabbed the bottle that was in front of him and poured myself another drink.

"Easy there hun. I don't know if I can get Hector to give me a bag of tacos in the morning." Mom said.

"Hector?" Finn and Dad asked at the same time.

"Yes. Hector." Mom said.

"I'll be fine Mom. So, what am I supposed to do? Go in there tomorrow and just forget about the last 20 years?"

"Not forget just…push it aside. They're not as uptight as they used to be kiddo. They just want to talk to you and get to know you. But there's something that we do need you to try and understand." Dad said.

"Okay."

"Well you see you know that Grandma and Grandpa named you as their heir, right?" Mom asked, and I nodded. I remembered because Grandpa had asked me how I felt about it. "Okay, well with the Haydens making you their heir, it will make you the double heiress."

"Okay. So, what? It'll what?" I asked.

"Ror, it'll make you the most sought-after girl in Hartford. Families are going to be trying to get you to marry their sons to be able to join three families in Hartford." Mom said.

"No one is going to try and tell me who I should marry. Are we clear? Who I decide to marry in the future will be my decision." I told them.

"Understood." Dad said.

Finn POV

 _I couldn't believe this. Rory was going to be the double heiress. I really hoped that she meant what she said about nobody was going to tell her who she was going to marry. I had a feeling that once Hartford found out about her, it would be a fight to the death. Every family in Hartford would be trying to get into her good graces. And I was lucky because I already was. I would have to tell my parents about me and Rory. Thank god my family wasn't like most families in Hartford._

"Okay well I'm tired…so I think that Finn and I are going to bed." Rory said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Okay hun. See you in the morning. Remember we gotta leave by ten thirty if we're gonna be on time." Lorelai said.

"Okay Mom."

Rory grabbed my hand and led me to her room. She closed the door once we were inside and then walked over to her bed and sat on the edge. I walked over and sat beside her. "Ror, you okay?" I asked.

"Huh? Yeah…I don't know. It's a lot to process you know. I mean these are people who didn't want anything to do with me and now all of a sudden they want to be a part of my life and they are the reason that I am becoming a double heiress." She said.

"I know it's a lot. Just remember, you were mine because you became the richest girl in Hartford."

"Thanks for the reminder." She said. I told her that I was going to the bathroom to change. When I came back, she was curled up on her bed. I climbed into the bed behind her and wrapped my arm around her before I turned the light off. I kissed the side of her head. "Thanks for being here. I don't know if I could handle any of this without you." She said before she drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Okay so that's chapter five. Hope that you guys enjoyed it. Next chapter lunch with the Haydens.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Okay so just to clarify. Straub is alive. All of the will talk is preparation. Also, this chapter marks changes that Rory starts to make. Short Chapter.

Chapter 7

Rory POV

The next morning when I woke up, Finn was still asleep. I got up, grabbed my clothes and went to take a shower. While I was in the shower, I thought about the events from the previous night. I needed to figure out how I was going to handle things with the Hayden's. When I got out of the shower, Mom was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. I poured myself a cup of coffee and joined her at the table. "Morning." Mom said.

"Morning." I said.

"Hangover?"

"Not really?" I said. Mom nodded, and I could tell that she really wanted to say something. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just kinda wondering where your head is at with everything that was said last night." Mom said.

"I'm not really sure, Mom. I mean, a lot was said last night. You know, I knew that Grandpa was going to name me as his heir, but I never thought that the Hayden's would do the same thing. You know, they've kinda always been this white elephant. They were there but we never talked about them. Mom, I don't even think that Paris knows about my connection to the Hayden's." I told her, and she nodded. "I've been thinking all morning about how I want to handle all of it."

"And?"

All I could do was shrug my shoulders.

A couple hours later, the four of us found ourselves driving to Hartford to have lunch with the Hayden's. We followed Dad in Finn's SUV. Mom didn't feel like driving so Finn said that he would. When we pulled into the driveway, Mom got out and met Dad at the front of the car. "Are you okay?" Finn asked me.

"I don't know. Promise you'll stay by my side?" I asked.

"Of course."

Finn and I got out of the car and walked up to the door with Mom and Dad. Dad opened the door. "Everybody ready?" He asked. We all nodded, and Dad led us through the house to the sitting room. "Mom? Dad?" He said, causing Francine Hayden to look up. "You remember Lorelai and Rory. And this is Rory's boyfriend Finn." Dad told her.

"Welcome. Please sit. Christopher, why don't you fix them some drinks." Francine said. Dad nodded and did as she ordered. "I'm glad that you all could make it. "Rory, let me have a look at you." She said. I stood up and turned around. After I turned for her, I sat back down next to Finn. "Your father tells us that you graduated Valedictorian at Chilton and your now in your second year at Yale." She said.

Dad walked over and started handing everyone drinks. "Yes, I did and I am." I said.

"That's very impressive you know. He also mentioned that you're a staff writer for the paper." Straub said.

"Yes I am. I don't mean to sound blunt or pushy, but…why am I here?" I said.

Francine stared at me. "I thought that your father would have explained it." She said, taking a sip of her martini.

"Oh, he did. I guess I'm just trying to figure out why I'm still here. So far, the only thing that you've done is take a look at me and tell me things about myself that I already know. Why don't we skip the chit chat and just get to the issue?" I said, downing my martini and handing my dad my glass.

"Of course. It seems that Straub, put a clause in his will without mentioning it to me, that you were to be named the Heiress of our fortune." Francine said.

"It was the right thing to do. You know that Francine." Straub said. I shot a look to Mom.

"Ah. There it is. I'm here because you need me." I said.

"There's always Georgia." She said.

"Francine." Straub said quietly.

"Yes, but that would be a breach of contract." I told them. Francine looked shocked. "You think that I didn't come here prepared?" I said with a smile. "I have friends everywhere. You may not have wanted me but that doesn't mean that I am beneath you." I said. "Let me ask you something, was it really Straub that didn't want anything to do with me or was it you?" I asked her. This had gone on long enough. It was time to put it to an end and let the truth come out.

"I lied to your father, Rory." She said, looking at Dad. "I'm sorry Christopher." She turned back to me. "Even though we were dealing with the scandal that your parents had caused Rory, Straub and I were actually very excited about your arrival. Straub said that he couldn't wait to start reading to you and that he hoped that you would take an interest in real matters, and not turn out to be some trophy wife." Francine said.

"And I still hope that you are not planning on doing that." Straub said.

"Hey dad…you got any scotch, bourbon or tequila over there?" I asked.

"Round of scotch coming right up." He said.

"So, you're telling me…that the two of you did want me?" I asked Francine.

She and Straub both nodded as Dad passed out another round of drinks. I down my drink and he poured me another. "Christopher, that's enough. She'll be drunk before we eat." Francine said.

"Don't underestimate mom. She drinks like you, Dad." Dad said, causing me to glare at him. "Sorry kid, but you do."

"Richard did say that she could give me a run for my money." Straub said, causing all of us to laugh.

"Now, moving on. Rory," She started pointing to the envelope that was laying on the coffee table. "In that envelope, is your inheritance. Trust fund information, property, stocks, etc." She said.

Just then the maid walked in and announced that lunch was ready. We all made our way to the dining room. "I know that this might sound stupid but what should I call you." I said.

"Whatever you like. I would love it if you called me Grandma or Grandmother. But I understand if it's too much. You can call me Francine." She said. I just nodded. "Now, happier topics. How long have you two been dating?" She asked me and Finn.

"Oh, not long. Just a few days actually." I said.

"Oh, so Finn, is it? Tell us about yourself." Straub said, and I rolled my eyes. Apparently, he was going to be as bad as grandpa Richard.

"Actually, you know my father Mr. Hayden." Finn said.

"Really?"

"Yes, sir…James Morgan." Finn said.

"Oh yes. James is not only a client but a good friend for many years. I believe he and Christopher, went to school together…isn't that right Christopher?" Straub said.

"It's a bit complicated, Dad." Dad said.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Am I the only one that finds this whole situation weird?" Mom said.

"Mom." I said.

"I'm glad somebody said it." Francine said. "We regret decisions that we've made in the past…but the past doesn't have to be our future." She said.

When we got ready to leave, Straub handed me the envelope and his business card. "Call me next week and we'll get lunch…just the two of us." He said.

"I will thanks." I said.

The drive back to Mom's was quiet. I wasn't sure how I felt about everything. Finn decided to have my car picked up so that the next day we could ride back to Yale together. The rest of the weekend was very laid back. Mom had expressed feelings about my trust fund, although I was pretty sure that she knew about the one that the Gilmores had set up. Although for me…I didn't have to worry about money…if I didn't have the money to pay for it…I had friends that would.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay guys. This is a long chapter. I hope that it makes sense. The next chapter I will be borrowing a little bit of dialogue from Finn's party but I also add a slight change in the dialogue. Hope you guys like it.

Chapter 8

Rory POV

"What kind of party?" I asked Steph as we were getting coffee near my dorm that following Wednesday.

"Finn's surprise birthday party." She said. I looked at her confused. "And…you have no idea what I'm talking about." She said, and I started shaking my head. "Ugh…Colin and Logan were supposed to talk to you about it."

"When is it?" I asked, as we walked into my dorm and sat on the couch in the common room.

"Saturday night." Steph said.

"I can make that work. Theme?"

"Quentin Tarantino." Steph said.

"Hmm. Colin pick the theme again?" I asked Steph.

"Yep. Said that he wasn't budging either."

"Interesting." I told Steph. A little while later, we were sitting there watching _Pulp Fiction,_ when the door opened. Paris walked in, looking not so happy. "What?" I asked her.

"Your friends are idiots." She said.

"Thank you." I said, causing me and Steph to laugh at the same time. Paris glared at me. "What happened?"

"That idiot, Robert. He came into the newsroom with the others, professing his so-called love for me." Paris says, me and Steph just laugh harder. "So, of course this starts and argument with Doyle. He thinks that I cheated on him. Then at the very end, all four of them walk in bowing, liking they won something." Paris said. Steph and I practically fell off the couch laughing so hard. Paris walked into her room and slammed the door.

"Ooh hey let's grab everyone and go to China Palace tonight." I said.

"Yeah. Even if Juliet doesn't eat, she's good company." Steph said.

"Yeah, let's go." I said. Steph and I jumped off the couch and darted out the door. We figured that they were all over at Logan and Colin's dorm. Logan had been hosting some girls all week, so Colin had spent most of his time at Finn's which meant Finn had been at my dorm most of the time. Steph and I bounced in the door, "Hey guys! Ooh look Steph, it's poker again." I said, in mock surprise.

"Yeah, I see. Oh well, perhaps they don't want to join us then." Steph said with mock hurt.

"Why are you two so happy?" Logan asked us.

"We're just in a good mood. Can't we be in a good mood?" I said.

"Umm…I don't know how to answer that."

"Hmm…or maybe it's because Steph and I just spent the last fifteen minutes laughing at Paris for complaining about you four." I told them, leaning down and kissing Finn's cheek.

"Ah…she told you about that?" Finn said.

"Yep. I didn't even know that you liked her, Robert." Steph said.

"I think she's interesting." Robert said, causing everyone else to shake their heads.

"Anyway," I started, "We're going to China Palace, you guys in." I said. They all stared at me. "What?"

"Since when are you the first to jump at going to an expensive restaurant?" Logan asked me.

I smiled. Only Steph and Finn (besides my family) knew that I was the double heiress. "Since my grandfather gave me my new credit card." I said.

"Huh?" Colin and Logan asked at the same time.

I looked at Steph. "Should I tell them?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Might as well. Beats them reading about it in the paper or getting a phone call from the parentals." Steph said.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Colin asked.

"I'm the double heiress." I said, with a big smile on my face. "So, dinner?" I asked.

Half an hour later, Me, Finn, Steph, Colin, Logan, Robert, Rosemary, and Juliet are all sitting at a table at China palace. "So, you're really a double heiress?" Juliet asked me.

"For the fifth time, Jules, yes. My mom's family is the Gilmores and my dad's family is the Haydens." I said.

"Wow. The money. The shoes." Rosemary said.

"That's what I said." Steph added.

We all started laughing. "Anyway," I said leaning back in my chair and Finn put his arm around my shoulders. "The grandparents are throwing a party in a couple of weeks to make the announcement. You guys will be there, right?" I said.

"Of course. We wouldn't miss it." Everyone said. I couldn't help but noticed that Logan looked a little nervous. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was something. After dinner the girls and I wanted to go dancing. We managed to drag Colin, Finn and Robert to go dancing with us. Logan said that he wasn't feeling it. We found this Zydeco club that Finn dragged us into. After a couple of dances, Finn and I were sitting at a table.

"You having fun?" He asked me.

I was leaning against him. I looked up at him. "I am. This is nice. Crazy music but nice." I said.

He kissed my forehead. "I'm glad." He said. "What do you say we get outta here? As much fun as I'm having, I'd really like to spend some alone time with my girlfriend." Finn said, as he started kissing my neck.

"Mhmm…that's nice." I said, letting Finn distract me. "Okay, let's go." I said. Finn and I got up and we started making our way towards the entrance, when Steph stopped us.

"You guys bailing?" Steph asked.

"dang it. You caught us Steph." I said. "Coffee in the morning?" I asked.

"See you then." She said.

Finn and I headed out of the Zydeco club and headed back to campus. We stopped on the way back to get coffee. "So, your dorm or mine?" I asked.

"Mine. I can't deal with Paris tonight." Finn said.

"Alright. Let's go. I wanna cuddle." I said.

The next day, I was walking around campus, headed to the paper when I stopped to get a cup of coffee. "Hey, large coffee, please." I said.

"Hey." Steph said as she ran up to me.

"Hey." I said as I paid for my coffee. "What's with you?"

"Oh, can I?" She said, pointing to my coffee.

I turned to the coffee cart guy. "add another one." I said. I turned back to Steph. "Now, what's up?"

"Have you thought about housing next year?" Steph asked me, as I grabbed our coffee.

"Not really. I haven't decided if I'm going with the dorms again or if I want an apartment." I told her as I handed her, her coffee. We started walking toward the paper. "What about you?" I asked.

"I'm leaning towards a dorm, but I wanna room with someone that I like." Steph said.

 _Then it hit me._ "Steph, what if we roomed together?" I asked.

"Seriously?" She asked. I nodded. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." She said. "You tried of rooming with Paris?"

"We just don't exactly run in the same circles anymore, if you know what I mean." I told Steph.

"I can see that. I mean you used to spend a lot of time with Paris, before we all came around." Steph said.

"Okay so next year, we're gonna be roomies?" I said.

"Yep. Question is do we want a dorm or an apartment?" Steph asked.

I thought for a minute. "If we get an apartment, we can avoid the whole dining hall mess." I told Steph as we approached the paper.

"That's a good point." She said. "Okay we'll finish this later. I have class. Thanks for the coffee."

"Any time."

Friday Night…

 _Friday night, Finn and I found ourselves driving to Hartford. Grandma Emily and Grandpa Richard were back from Hartford, so therefore Friday Night Dinners were reinstated. Mom wouldn't be at dinner, since her and Grandma still weren't speaking. I told Grandma that I was bringing someone to dinner. She tried to pry for information, but I wouldn't give in. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction._

When Finn and I got to the Gilmore's, I rang the bell. "It's going to be fine." Finn said.

"You're really good at doing that." I said, as the maid opened the door. We walked in and I handed her my jacket.

"Doing what?" He asked.

I turned to him. "Calming me down when you sense that I'm nervous." I said. I grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. "Hi Grandma, Grandpa." I said, as we walked in and sat down on the couch.

"Rory, hello." Grandma said. "Who's your friend?"

"Grandma, Grandpa…I'd like to introduce Finn Morgan…my boyfriend." I said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore." Finn said.

"Morgan, you say?" Grandpa said.

"Yes sir. My parents are James and Charlotte Morgan." Finn said.

"Oh, Charlotte and I are in the garden club together." Grandma said. "What can I get you two to drink?"

"Club soda." I said.

"I'll take a scotch if you don't mind." Finn said.

"Coming right up." Grandma said, getting up fix our drinks.

"So, Rory. I got a call from the housing department saying that you were going to be in the dorms next year." Grandpa said.

"Um, no. I'm not. My friend Stephanie and I have decided to get an apartment together." I told Grandpa, realizing that I hadn't told Finn about it.

"Oh, well do you need any help with the rent?" Grandpa asked me.

"Umm, actually no. You see while you guys were gone something happened." I told them. I told them about everything that happened with Dad, Grandma Francine and Grandpa Straub.

"Straub has brain cancer?" Grandma said.

"I know. Mom and I had a hard time wrapping our heads around it too." I said. "Anyway, Grandma Francine is throwing a party in a couple of weeks to announce me being an heiress and I thought that maybe since you guys already named me as your heir, that maybe the four of you might want to throw a combined party and announce me as the double heiress." I said, taking a drink of my club soda.

Grandma and Grandpa looked at each other. "I think that would be a marvelous idea." Grandpa said.

 _The rest of dinner seemed to pass by. On the way back to Yale, I held Finn's hand._ "So, were you gonna tell me about you and Steph moving in together?" He asked.

"I was. I just didn't think my grandparents would find out through the housing department." I said, and he nodded. "Steph and I still haven't finalized everything."

"Okay." Finn said.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Did the guys invite you to the party tomorrow?" He asked.

"You know about that?" I asked. He nodded. "It was supposed to be a surprise." I said. He kissed my hand.

"I appreciate the effort, but Colin can't keep a secret plus he talks in his sleep." Finn said. I couldn't help but laugh.

When we walked into my dorm, I kicked my shoes off and laid on the couch. "I'm so tired." I said, as Finn sat down, pulling my feet into his lap and started rubbing my feet. "Mhmm. That feels good." I said.

"So, you'd really rather live with Paris than me?" Finn asked.

At hearing his question, I sat straight up. "What?" I asked.

"Please don't make me repeat it." Finn said.

"We haven't been together long." I said.

"I know." Finn said.

"I haven't met your family." I said.

"I know."

"Can you please say something other than I know?" I asked.

"Ror, I don't know what else to say. I know that I like you…I more than like you. I love you." _Wow._ "I wanna take that next step." Finn said.

"I need to think. I think you should go." I said. Finn nodded. He got up and walked out. I walked into my room and changed clothes. I put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I grabbed a jacket and headed out the door. It was Friday night, so I knew that I would find Steph at the pub. When I walked in, she was sitting at a table with Logan and Colin. I walked over to the table.

"Whoa. You don't look happy. Why don't you look happy?" Logan said.

I glared at him. I turned to Steph. "I need to talk to you." I said. She nodded. Steph and I walked over to the bar. She ordered us a couple of shots.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Finn asked me to move in with him." I said.

"Seriously?" She asked, and I nodded. The bartender brought us our shots. "Leave the bottle." She told the bartender.

"Yep." I said as I downed my shot. "I didn't even know what to say. I mean, I didn't think that we were at that stage yet." I told Steph, then I downed my shot. She poured me another one.

"Well, do you want to?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't think that I would move in with a guy while I was still in college." I said. I downed the second shot.

"I get that, but Ror, it's been like 7 months." Steph said.

"I know. I just…I don't think I'm ready to live with him yet." I said. Steph nodded. "I mean you and I had a plan. You know?"

She nodded. "Yeah I know? Did you tell him about our plan?" She asked.

"Sort of. Grandpa Richard got a call from housing, telling him that I wasn't gonna need housing next year. Well he mentioned it at dinner…in front of Finn."

"Ouch."

"Yeah and at that point I hadn't told him." I said. Steph poured us a couple more shots. "So on the way back from dinner, he asked me if I was gonna tell him about me and you moving in together and that's when he asked me to move in with him instead."

We both downed our shots. "Wow. Okay, I think I know what's going on now." I nodded. "I think that Finn thinks that your gonna run." She said.

I looked at her confused. "Run?" I asked.

"Yeah. Like maybe you're not happy with the way that things are going." She said. "You should talk to him about his feelings." She said.

"Your right." I said. "I'll see you later." I said, running out the door to go talk to Finn.

Steph POV

After Rory bolted out the door to go talk to Finn, I headed back to the table where Logan and Colin were waiting for me. "What was that about?" Logan asked.

"Finn asked her to move in with him next year." I said.

"Wow that's big." Colin said.

"Yeah. Since Rory will be taking over her family's law firm, we're both gonna go to law school and then she's gonna make me a partner. We have it all worked out." They both looked at me shocked. "Rory and I are getting an apartment next year." I told them.

"Wow. I didn't see that coming." Colin said.

Colin looked at Logan. "The Dark Lord issue an ultimatum yet?" Colin asked Logan.

"Not yet but I know it's coming. It always does." Logan said.

"Everything ready for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yep." They both said.

Rory POV

When I got to Finn's dorm, I stood there for a minute. It had started raining on the walk there, so I was drenched. After what seemed like forever I finally knocked. When he opened the door, we stood there and stared at each other. "Ror, hi." He said.

"Hi. I know that you're probably surprised to see me right now, but I needed to see you." I said, and he let me inside. I walked in and he shut the door behind me. "After you left, I went to the pub to talk to Steph. She made me realize that I should have told you about me and her getting an apartment next year." I said, and he nodded. "She made me realize that I hadn't thought about your feelings in all of this. I realized that even though we've been together for almost a year, I'm still not ready to move in with you." I said as I started pacing around the room. "I know that it probably sounds crazy since most of the time we're either here or at my dorm…but the thing is…we still have our own dorms and space." I said. I looked at him and I could see the hurt on his face. "I'm not saying this to hurt you. I'm saying this because, I like the way that things are going right now. I like how things are with us." He looked up at me and smiled.

"So, this isn't you slowing breaking up with me?" Finn asked.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "No, I'm not breaking up with you. I'm just not ready to live with you full time yet." I said. "Give me another year and then we can talk about it again." I said.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. I mean, that will put us at two years and I think that by then I will be ready." I said.

Finn wrapped his arms around me tight and pulled me close to him. "Your soaking wet." He said.

"Well it's raining outside so I guess your gonna have to warm me up." I said.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Okay. So this chapter contains dialogue from Finn's birthday party. I did change a few things though. Some of Robert's dialogue I switched to Finn. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Rory POV

 _The next night, I was in my dorm getting ready for Finn's party. The guys had tried to make it a surprise party, but they had failed. Finn had confronted them late last night asking how the party preparations were going. We all laughed about it. Colin and Logan really thought that they could throw Finn a surprise birthday party. I wasn't sure how the night was going to go except for maybe the fact that I would probably end up having to make sure that the guys made it home because they would be too drunk._

 _After I was dressed, I walked into the common room and sat on the couch to wait for Finn._ I was flipping through a magazine when Paris walked out of her room. She looked like she was dressed for the party. "What?" She said.

"You're going to Finn's party?" I asked.

She nodded. "Doyle and I broke up. Robert asked me to be his date." She said. I nodded.

"Okay." I said.

When Finn and I walked into the party, we found a table. We were standing at a table.

"Robert! What are you?" Finn asked as Robert and Paris joined us.

"Dead extra number two." Robert said.

"Brilliant, my friend." Finn said.

"Happy birthday, Finn. You owe me forty dollars." Robert told Finn.

"Well, maybe for my birthday you'll forgive me that." Finn said, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Does your father have any idea what a toll his cross-dressing took on your psyche?"

"That was your father, Finn." Robert said causing Paris to laugh.

"Ah, you're right." He holds up his hands to display the painted fingernails. "My God, that explains a lot."

Colin joins us. "Oh, hey, Colin. Where's your date?" I asked.

"I went to go pick her up. She's dressed like Mira Sorvino." Colin said.

"How do you dress like Mira Sorvino?" Robert said.

"You have blonde hair and a name tag that says 'Mira Sorvino'. I just turned around and left." Colin said.

Logan joins our table with his date with Steph closely behind. "Well, well, well. The gang's all here. Robert, good to see you."

"Hello, Logan." Robert says.

"Rory, like the costume." Logan says.

"I like yours too." I tell him.

"This is Whitney. Whitney, Robert, Paris. You know Rory, Finn, Colin and Steph." Logan said.

"Hi." Whitney said.

"Whitney, is your friend Josie here?" Colin asked, causing me, Paris and Steph to roll our eyes.

"Yeah, she's over there with the guy dressed like Harvey Weinstein." Whitney said.

"Perfect. I'll see you later." Colin said, starting to walk away in the direction that Whitney pointed out.

"Leave her alone, Colin." Whitney called after him.

"Yes, yes. Of course." Colin says and walks off.

"So. Good party, huh?" Logan asks.

"Seems like it." Finn said.

Finn wraps an arm around my shoulders. "Music's cool." I said.

"Very cool. Well, we're just heading over to the bar, can we get you two anything?" Logan said.

"No, we're just going to take a look around." Finn said.

"Okay, well, catch you later." Logan said.

"Sounds good." I said. Logan and Whitney walked off, leaving me, Finn, Robert, Paris and Steph at the table. "That was weird right?" I asked.

"Absolutely." Steph said.

Halfway through the party, Steph and I were standing at the bar waiting for our drinks, when Whitney came up to us. "Hey, have you guys seen Logan? I can't find him." She said.

"Not in a while. I'm sure he's around." I told her. "If we see him, you want us to tell him that your looking for him?" Whitney nodded before walking off. "Think that we should have told her that Logan left with a different blond?"

Steph shook her head. "Nope. Not our business." Steph said.

When the party was over, Finn and I went back to my dorm and crashed.

The rest of the weekend passed uneventful. On Monday, I met Steph for our usual morning coffee. My morning class had been cancelled so after coffee I headed to the paper to get a jump on my article.

Finn POV

When I woke up on Monday, I laid in my bed thinking about the events from the weekend. It had been a good weekend, despite Logan acting strange at my birthday party. After making a cup of coffee I decided that it was time to tell my parents about me and Rory. It was the beginning of the week, so I knew that I probably wouldn't see Rory much over the next couple of days. I grabbed my phone and sat on the couch and called my mother.

"Hello." Mom said when she answered the phone.

"Hi Mom." I said when she answered.

"Finn, how nice of you to call darling. And during the day." She said.

"Umm…Mom I sort of need to tell you something." I said.

"Oh no. Please tell me that you, Colin and Logan didn't get arrested again." Mom said.

"No, Mom. We didn't. It's something else." I said.

"Okay, what is it?" She asked.

"I've been seeing someone. Exclusively." I said. _Mom knew that there was only a handful of girls if that…that I had dated seriously._

"Really? It's been a while since you've had a serious girlfriend, son." She said.

"I know."

"Well, how long?" She asked.

"7 months."

"Finn! Why haven't you introduced us yet?"

"I don't know Mom. She's had some family issues that she's been dealing with, so I've been by her side…supporting her." I told mom. At least she would understand.

"Well tell me about her. Do I know her family?" She asked.

"Yes, quite well actually. Her name is Rory Gilmore-Hayden." I said.

"Oh, yes. I know the Gilmores and the Haydens quite well." Mom said.

"Oh, I know. Turns out that Dad and Rory's dad know each other too. Apparently, they went to school together." I said.

"Now that you mention it, I think that I remember your father saying something about that." Mom said.

"I'm curious about something Mom. What did you and dad do get married right out of high school?" I asked.

"Something like that. It's complicated son. You'd have to ask your father." She said. "Why don't you bring Rory to dinner one night this week?"

"Sure Mom, how about Saturday night? She usually has dinner with Richard and Emily on Friday nights." I told her.

"Sounds great darling. Should I invite your sister and your brother?" She asked.

"Liza sure. I'm sure that Brandon's too busy." I said.

"Nonsense. I'll call them. I'll see you Saturday." Mom said and hung up.

After hanging up with Mom, I got ready for my first class.

Rory POV

After working on my article for the paper for three hours, I headed back to my dorm to take a nap before my afternoon class. Or at least that was my plan. When I walked into my dorm, Paris was sitting on the couch studying. "Hey Ror?" She asked when I closed the door.

"What's up Paris?" I asked, trying to make my way to my room.

"I heard from Robert that you and Steph are getting an apartment next year?" She asked me.

"Yeah we are. I just figured that it would be easier since you and I kinda do different things now. You're not mad, are you?" I said.

"No, Robert asked me to be his girlfriend last night." Paris said.

"Wow. So, I guess you'll be hanging out with us more?" I said.

She nodded. "Yeah I guess so." She said.

I headed to my room to take my nap. A little while later I woke up to my cell phone ringing. I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed my cell, flipping it open to answer. "I don't know who you are but be prepared to die." I said.

"Luv? You ok?" Finn asked me.

"Sorry. I was taking a nap before my intro to law class this afternoon." I said. I sat up in my bed.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that I called my mom and told her about us this morning."

"That's good right?" I asked. I got up and slipped my tennis shoes on. I made my way through the dorm out to the hallway. I needed coffee.

"Yeah it is. They want to have dinner with us Saturday night." He said.

"Really?" I asked. I ordered my coffee and paid for it. I walked back to my dorm and sat on the couch in the common room.

"Yeah. Mom wants to meet you."

"Well I'd love to meet her too." I told him. I looked at the clock. "Hey, I gotta go if I'm gonna make my class." I said. "Dinner tonight?" I asked him.

"Sure 7 o'clock?"

"See you then." I hung up, grabbed my notebook, textbook and pen and then headed out the door. I grabbed another coffee on the way to class. It was going to be a long afternoon. When I walked into my Intro to Law class, Colin was there. He waved me over.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey, I didn't know that you were in this class." I said.

"Yeah. I'm surprised that their letting you take it this semester." Colin said.

"Yeah well it took a long conversation with my advisor that I could handle it with the rest of my course load." I told him.

"Of course." He said.

For the next two hours, I sat in my Intro to Law class next to Colin. After class, Colin walked with me to get a cup of coffee. We ran into Steph and Finn. Finn walked with me back to my dorm. We spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the couch in my common room watching tv until we got hungry.

The rest of the week flew by. The next thing I knew it was Saturday night and I was in my dorm getting ready for dinner with Finn's family. I had just finished zipping up my dress when there was a knock on my door. I went to open it. It was Steph. "Hey what's up?" I asked.

"Umm…I was wondering if I could borrow an outfit and shoes." She said.

"Sure. Just not the black heels. I'm wearing those tonight." I said. "What's going on? Got a hot date?"

"Not exactly. My mother set me up again."

"Oh god. You'll have to tell me how it went." I told her as I grabbed my shoes and sat in the chair to put them on.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay so I've been working on finishing up some of my stories. So right now I'm only working on one story at a time trying finish some of these up. So right now this is the story that I'm working on. However, I will let you in on this little secret. I have two new stories in the works. One's a possible ROGAN pairing and the other is the final installment of my ROGAN series which if you've read has turned into a TRORY (which you guys asked for.) Glad to have each and every one of you supporting me. Oh yeah a possible sequel to Rory and Colin. Not sure yet still playing around with a storyline for that one. Don't forget to Read, Review and Favorite. Here's chapter ten!

Chapter 10 – Saturday Night

Rory POV

The drive to Finn's parents' house was quiet. I could tell that he was nervous. "Finn, are you okay?" I asked as we pulled into the driveway.

He cut the engine. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to get through this dinner." He said as he got out of the car. I got out as well. Finn walked around the front of the car and joined me.

"Hey." I said, getting him to look at me. "You need to relax."

"My whole family is going to be in there. My parents, my sister and my brother." He said.

I leaned up and kissed him. "It will be fine." I told him.

He took a deep breath. "Your right, it will be." He said smiling at me. I grabbed Finn's hand interlacing our fingers while also placing my hand on his arm as we walk to the front door. Finn rings the doorbell. A few minutes later the door opens. "Maria, my parents are expecting us." Finn said.

"Oh course, Mr. Finn. There in the sitting room. May I take your coat Miss?" Maria said.

"Thank you." I said handing her my coat.

Finn and I made our way into what I assumed was the sitting room. "Good evening everyone." Finn said when we walked into the room.

Finn POV

"Finn, glad that you could join us." My dad said.

"Everyone this is Rory Gilmore-Hayden, my girlfriend." I said. "Rory this is my dad, James. My mom Charlotte. My sister Liza and my brother Brandon."

"It nice to meet you all." Rory said as I led her to the couch across from Liza and Brandon. I walked over to Dad's drink cart and fixed Rory and I a drink. I walked back and sat beside her, handing her her drink. "Mr. Morgan, my grandfather and my father both speak very highly of you."

"Ah yes, I've known them both for many years. They both speak high praises of you." Dad said.

"Their very proud." Rory said.

"You go to Yale, Rory?" Mom asked her.

"I do. I'm a pre-law major with a minor in journalism." She said.

"That's incredible." Liza said. "I don't know how you do it. It sounds like you have an intense course load."

I down my drink. "Yeah I do. But I love it. I'm going to be going to Law school to one day take over my family's law firm, but I like to write so I'll always have journalism to fall back on." Rory told everyone.

"That's very logical." Mom said.

"Thank you." Rory said, looking at me and smiling.

"Finn, come with me to the study we need to talk." My father said.

"Okay." I said, standing up and following my dad to the study. Once Dad and I were in the study I shut the door behind me. "What do you want to talk about, Dad?" I asked him.

"How long have you been seeing that girl, son?" Dad asked me.

"7 months sir. But there's something that you need to know." I told him. He looked at me confused. "She's the double heiress." I said.

"The double heiress?" Dad asked me.

"Yes sir." He got up and poured us each a glass of scotch.

"Do you know what that means?" He asked me.

"Yes sir. She's inheriting two multi-million-dollar companies. She'll be the CEO of both." I said.

"Yes. But that also means that families all over Hartford are going to be lining up to get into her good graces." Dad said.

"I know Dad. She made it clear to her parents though that no one was going to tell her who to marry that she would be the one to make that decision." I told Dad. He nodded. "Dad, I don't know what it is about her but she's different than any other girl that I've dated. I really need you and Mom to like her." I told Dad.

"I understand son. I have no doubt that we'll love her." Dad said.

I nodded. We made our way back to the sitting room. I took my seat back next to Rory. The rest of dinner went pleasant. Mom and Rory talk a lot throughout the evening. Rory and Liza made plans to go shopping with Steph for the party in a couple of weeks. "I hate to eat and run but I have to be a family brunch in the morning and we still have to drive back to Yale." Rory said.

"Oh of course. We're so sorry to keep you so late." Mom said.

Rory POV

Charlotte had walked Finn and I out to the driveway. "I really appreciate dinner, Charlotte. It was delicious." I said.

"Oh, your welcome, Rory. We're just happy to finally meet you." Charlotte said.

"I'm honored for the invite. Finn speaks so highly of all of you." I said.

"That's very sweet of you. I'd love to have the whole family over for dinner one night." Charlotte said.

"I'll be sure to mention it to my grandmothers and they can let you know." I told her.

"That sounds wonderful." Charlotte said. "Be careful going home." Charlotte said hugging me. Then she turned to Finn. "Drive safe dear." She said to him.

"Of course, Mom." Finn said, before Charlotte turned and went back into the house. Finn and I walked to the car. I climbed in and Finn walked around to the driver's side and got in. "I think that went well." Finn said when he got in.

"Yeah." I said. I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt like the only person in Finn's family that liked me was his sister, Liza. What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to tell him that I thought that his family hated me? I was quiet the entire drive back to Yale. I wasn't really tired, I was just having a hard time trying to process the dinner that we had just left.

When we got back to Yale we were walking back to my dorm when Finn stopped me. "Okay, what gives? You been quiet the entire ride back." He said.

I let out a sigh. "The only person in your family that likes me is Liza." I said.

"That's not true. My parents loved you." Finn said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How so? Were you just at the same dinner that I was? Because it was like ice in there." I said.

Finn wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. "Babe, I promise you…they loved you. If they didn't my mom wouldn't have mentioned having your whole family over." Finn said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really. Come on. It's still early enough that we can change and meet everyone at the pub." He said.

"Okay." Finn and I walked the rest of the way to my dorm. _Finn and I had gotten into a nice rhythm. I keep some stuff at his dorm and he kept some stuff at my dorm. This way we didn't have to bring clothes back and forth. We walked into my dorm and into my room to change. When we were done, I grabbed my blue jean jacket, keys and phone and we headed to the pub._

When we walked into the pub, we instantly found our friends. "I'll get some drinks." Finn said and headed to the bar.

I walked over to the table where Logan, Colin, and Steph were waiting. "Hey guys." I said, grabbing a seat next to Steph.

"Hey where's Finn?" Logan asked.

"Getting drinks." I said. I turned to Steph. "So, they date was a bust?" I asked her.

"We didn't even make it to dinner. He showed up at my dorm wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans." Steph said.

"And your mom thought that the two of you would hit it off?" I asked.

"Apparently. So, I told him that dinner wasn't going to happen and then slammed the door in his face." Steph said.

"Sounds eventful." I said as Finn walked over with our drinks and sat beside me. We spent the next couple of hours hanging out with our friends before I excused myself and headed home.

Finn POV

"So how was dinner?" Colin asked me after Rory left.

"It was good. My mom was to have Rory's entire family over one night. Rory thinks my family hates her. So…about average I guess." I said.

"Well, I mean Rory does have a lot on her mind." Steph said.

"I know. Straub's getting worse. Rory thinks that she might have to start spend more time in Hartford." I told them.

"That's gotta be rough for her." Logan said.

I still couldn't shake this feeling that Logan was up to something. I wasn't sure, but he had been acting weird…almost jealous around me and Rory since my birthday. Oh well, it's Logan, there's no telling.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Rory POV

The next morning, I woke up with a slight headache. Not quite a hangover. I went to take a shower. When I got done, I walked back into my room to get ready. I settled on my burgundy skirt and black backless shirt. I wore my black ankle boots and my leather jacket. As I was walking out the door, I called Dad. "Hey kid." Dad said when he answered.

"Hey Dad. I'm leaving now." I said.

"Okay kid. Grandpa's not feeling too good today." Dad said as I stopped at the coffee cart for my usual.

When I got my coffee, I started walking towards the parking lot. "Did he start chemo?" I asked Dad.

"Yeah. He's driving grandma crazy. She's been hovering. He'll be glad to see you." Dad said.

"Okay. I should be there in about an hour." I told Dad as I got in my car.

"Okay, kid. See you then." He said and hung up.

 _Grandpa Straub and I had spent a little bit of time together since the lunch at their house and the truth had finally come out. Grandma Francine and I were getting closer but I couldn't help but feel that her feelings about me and Mom hadn't changed. The drive to Hartford had been smooth. I was getting off the interstate when my cell rang. It was Mom_. "Hey Mom." I said when I answered.

"Hi sweets. You sound like you're in the car." She said.

"Yeah I am. I'm headed to brunch with Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa started chemo." I told her.

"Oh ok. Well, Sookie's on bedrest." Mom said.

"Bedrest?" I asked, as I turned down the street that Grandma and Grandpa lived on.

"Yeah, like for the rest of her pregnancy." Mom said.

"Wow. What're you gonna do?" I asked.

"Well, Luke is coming over to help but I still need a head chef for the next two months." Mom said.

"That sucks. I'm sorry Mom." I said.

"It's not your fault kid. How was dinner with Finn's parents?" Mom asked.

I let out a sigh. "It was okay…I guess." I said telling Mom about the entire dinner. "I don't know Mom, I just feel like his parents don't like me."

"Give it time kid. Finn's right though. By Hartford standards…if his mom wants to have everyone over then she loves you." Mom said.

"Yeah okay." I said as I pulled into the driveway. "I'm here. I'll call you later." I said.

"Okay kid. I love you." I said.

"Love you too kid." Mom said and hung up. I cut the engine to my car and got out. I walked up to the door and rang the bell. A minute later, Dad opened the door. "Hi, I'm the granddaughter, their expecting me. Although you look a lot like my dad." I said laughing.

"Very funny. Get in here." Dad said.

The maid was right behind him. I took my jacket off and handed it to the maid. I hugged Dad and we walked into the sitting room where Grandma and Grandpa were. "Hello everyone." I said.

"Rory dear. Hello." Grandma said.

I walked over to Grandpa and hugged him. "Hi Grandma. Grandpa, how're you feeling?" I asked. "Dad said that you started chemo."

"I did. It's been rough. Your grandma won't quit hovering." Grandpa said.

"Coffee Ror?" Dad asked.

"Yeah thanks Dad." I said.

"So, Rory, have you thought any more about Law school?" Grandpa asked me.

"I have. I wanted to run something past you actually." I said.

Dad handed me my coffee and I took a drink. He sat down on the couch beside me. "Okay, well next year my friend Stephanie and I are getting an apartment off campus together." I said. He nodded. "She's pre-law too. We're planning to go to law school together."

"That's nice."

"Yes, well… I was thinking that when we graduate, and I take over the firm that I would make her a partner." I said, unsure of what Grandpa would say.

He stared at me for a minute. "This is what you want?" He asked me.

"It is." I said.

"Then it's fine with me. The firm is technically yours, although your father runs it. I suggest that you and him work out details but ultimately the decision is yours." Grandpa said.

"Of course, Grandpa." I said. "Oh, before I forget, Finn and I had dinner with his parents last night. They would like to invite everyone over one night." I told everyone.

"That sounds delightful. I'll take a look at our calendar and get with Emily." Grandma said.

I smiled. "Sounds great Grandma." I said.

After brunch I headed back to Yale. I called Steph on the way. "Hey girly." She said when she answered.

"Hey, so I talked to Grandpa about making you a partner when we graduate." I said.

"What'd he say?" She asked.

"He said he was fine with it. Said that Dad and I could work out the details but ultimately the decision is mine." I said.

"That's awesome. Oh, I found us an apartment." She said.

"That's cool where is it?" I asked.

"Old campus." She said.

"Cool." I said.

"So, wanna know what I found out?" Steph asked.

"Absolutely." I said.

"Okay so I was hanging out with the boys and they were playing poker like always, so I was laying on the couch. Robert and Colin are sitting there arguing. Now normally this wouldn't surprise me but come to find out last night at the pub after you left Colin went home with a girl that Robert hooked up with." Steph said.

"He didn't." I said, as I got off the interstate.

"He did. Robert was furious. So, then Colin turns to him and he's like what does it matter aren't you with Paris." Steph said and I laughed. "It was hilarious. I ended up falling off the couch I was laughing so hard."

I pulled into Yale and found my parking spot. "Wow. Where are you now? I just got back." I said.

"My dorm. I was thinking about coffee." She said.

"I gotta change. We can go to the pub if you want?" I said.

"Sounds good. I'll be at your in ten." Steph said and hung up.

I got out of my car and headed towards my dorm. When I walked in, I headed straight for my room. I quickly changed into a pair of blue jeans and a thin sweater and then grabbed my jacket. I walked back out to my common room right as I heard a knock at the door. I walked over and opened. "Hey, I just gotta throw my shoes on." I said.

"That's cool. What do you wanna do for dinner?" She asked.

"I was thinking that I might order in. I have a few chapters to read for Political science tomorrow." I told her.

"That's cool. You mind if I hang out here tonight. My roommate's boyfriend is there and let's just say that we don't get along." Steph said.

"Yeah it's cool." I said, putting my shoes on. "Okay let's go." I said.

A/N: Okay that's Chapter 11. Next chapter time jump a couple of weeks to the party announcing Rory being an heiress. Thanks guys! Don't forget to read, review and favorite.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: sorry guys, was having trouble with this chapter. I hope that it makes sense. Little start of drama in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 12 - The Party

Rory POV

 _The next two weeks flew by. Steph, Liza and I had gone shopping for our dresses for the party. Steph and I had decided to get similar dresses. They were both black and strapless. Mine was plain black and hers had little rhinestones on it. My grandmothers had informed me that the press would be at the party tonight. So of course, tomorrow everyone would know who I was. Everyone was surprised when Colin asked Steph to be his date to the party. When Finn and I arrived at my grandmother's (Grandma Francine's), we were immediately pulled over by the stairs for pictures. At 6:45 Dad came downstairs._

"Hey kid, you clean up nice." Dad said.

"Thanks Dad. You remember Finn?" I said.

He held his hand out. Finn shook Dad's hand. "Of course. Good to see you." Dad said.

"You too sir." Finn said. "Excuse me, I need a drink." I smiled at him.

"So, is your mom coming?" Dad asked.

"Yep. She even convinced Luke to come." I told him.

"That's nice. I better go check on your Grandpa." Dad said, walking towards Grandpa's study.

Several hours later, I was making the rounds when I heard a familiar voice. When I turned around, I surprised to see Tristan standing there. "Hi." I said.

"Hi." Tristan said.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Yeah. I, umm…I wasn't sure if I was going to come." Tristan said. I nodded. "You look nice."

"Thanks. Are you back?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. I have been for a while." He said. "How's Yale?"

"How'd you know?" I asked him.

"Paris. We email from time to time. She mentioned that you guys were roommates." I nodded.

"You could've called." I said. _It was weird to see him but at the same time it was good._

"I know. I just wasn't sure if you would want to talk to me." He said. We stood there and talked for a few minutes, before Finn came over and brought me a drink. "Finn, how's it going?"

"Not bad. Didn't realize that you were coming tonight? How's Princeton?" Finn said.

"You guys know each other?" I asked Finn.

"LDB, babe." Finn said.

"Right." I said.

"You know about the LDB?" Tristan asked me.

"I'm a member." I said. He looked at me confused. "I'm a Gilmore which are Yalies and I'm also a Hayden which are normally Princeton bound which I'm sure that you know." I told him, taking a drink of my martini.

"I should really find my grandmothers, they're probably looking for me anyway." I said. "It was good to see you Tristan." I said before Finn and I walked off to find my grandmothers.

Lorelai POV

Luke and I were standing near the bar, when I looked over saw Rory standing there talking to a tall familiar looking blond. I grabbed Chris. He turned around and stared at me. "Who's that?" I asked him.

"Who? The guy Ror's talking too?" He said.

"Yeah. He looks familiar, but I can't place it." I said.

"It's Tristan DuGrey." Chris said.

"DuGrey…. That sounds familiar but why?" I said.

"Hey Lor, isn't that the kid that Rory went to Chilton with?" Luke asked.

I gasped. "Bible boy." I turned to Luke. "Your right. It is him." I said. The three of us stood there and watched the interaction between the two. A few minutes later, we watched Finn go over and take her something to drink. A few minutes later, the pair was walking away. I stood there and watched Tristan's face. I knew that look. It was the look of someone that had just seen their first love for the first time in years. It was the same look that I had when Chris showed up for the first time in Stars Hollow.

Rory POV

Finn and I went in search of Grandma Francine and Grandma Emily. We found them over by the stage. "Hi Grandma, hi Grandma." I said.

"Oh good, there you are." Grandma Emily said. "We're about to start." I simply nodded.

The Grandmas along with Grandpa Straub and Grandpa Richard walked up on to the stage. "Can I have everyone's attention." Grandpa Richard said. "First of all, I would like to thank everyone in this room for coming tonight. This is a momentous occasion. Tonight, we have invited all of you join us for the announcement of the Gilmore and Hayden Heiress. She is the first of her kind. She is the Granddaughter of two prominent families. Please all me to introduce you to the double heiress of Hartford, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden the third. Rory, can you come up here?"

I walked up on to the stage. I took the microphone from Grandpa. "Thank you, Grandpa. First of all, I want to say, that I look forward to the future as I prepare two great empires for the next generation. Second of all, I want to thank my family for all of the love and support that they have shown me. And third, I want to thank my amazing boyfriend, for whom I wouldn't be able to get through this without." I said. "Thank you all so much for coming and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your night." I handed Grandpa Richard the microphone back and made my way back to Finn.

Finn put his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. "That's was a nice speech babe." He said.

"Thanks." I said. Finn and I made the rounds a few more times. I ended up at the bar.

"That was some speech." I heard. I turned to look at the person that was talking to me. It was Tristan again.

"Thanks. I didn't know that you were still here." I said. I turned to the bartender. "Vodka martini straight up please." I said to the bartender.

"Yeah, I was getting ready to go though. Didn't take you for a vodka drinker?" Tristan said.

"Yeah well, there's a lot that you don't know about me." I said, as the bartender handed me my drink.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Like…that I'm a coffee addict." I said, taking a drink of my martini.

"Believe it or not I did know that." Tristan said.

"Did you expect me to be the heiress?" I asked Tristan.

He shook his head. "Yes and no. I expected it on the Gilmore side. I just didn't know that you were a Hayden too." He said.

"It's not something that I brag about." I said.

"I get it." He said.

I looked up at him. "Really?" I said.

"Yeah." He said. _Tim McGraw's the rest of our lives started to play._ "You wanna dance?" He asked.

"Sure." I said. Tristan took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I look around and see Finn in the corner talking to Logan and Colin. We start to dance. Everything that I had pushed down since I was sixteen was resurfacing.

"So, how did you go from bag boy to Finn? At least he's an upgrade." Tristan said.

"We wanted different things and then he got married." I said, as we danced close to each other. "And then he got married."

"Wow. I was sure that I would come back, and you guys would still be together." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you guys seemed happy…I guess." Tristan said as he spun me around.

"People change, they grow up and grow apart." I said.

"That's true. So now what? What's your plan?" He asked me.

"Well, I'm in my second year at Yale. I'll graduate Pre-law with a minor in journalism. Then I'll go to Law school and take over the family business. As far as The Gilmore Group, I have no interest in insurance, so I'll hire someone to run it. What about you?" I said.

"Princeton then law school, then I don't know. Dad wants me to come work for him. I just don't see it." He said, and I nod.

Meanwhile…Finn POV

After speeches were done and everyone had gone back to the party, I saw Logan and Colin standing in the corner. I told Rory that I was going to join them. We were talking about the upcoming LDB event. It was going to be the party of the year. I looked over at the bar and saw Rory standing over there talking to Tristan again. Colin noticed what I was looking at. "What's going on there?" He asked me, causing Logan to turn his and look.

I shrugged my shoulders as I watched them interact. "I don't know. Rory said that they went to high school together before he went to Military school." I said.

We watched as they walked out to the dance floor and started dancing. "You worried?" Logan asked me.

"Nope, because I'm the one taking her home." I said, both of them raising an eyebrow at me. "Guys, I'm not jealous." I said.

"Okay…" They both said at the same time.

"I need a drink." I said and made my way to the bar. When I got to the bar, I looked at the bartender. "McKellen neat please." I said.

I turned back to look at Rory on the dance floor while I waited for my drink. I heard the bartender sit my glass down in front of me. "You know that she cares about you right?" I heard, causing me to turn. Lorelai was standing beside me.

I looked at her and nodded. "I know." I said, picking up my drink. "What's their history?" I asked her.

She let out a sigh. "How much has Rory told you about her high school years?" She asked me.

"Not much. Just that she transferred to Chilton during sophomore year, and that you couldn't afford. She said that Emily and Richard paid for it and Yale, hence the Friday night dinners." I told her, and she nodded.

"Okay, well her first day of Chilton…she met this cocky, spoiled rich blond who started calling her Mary. When I picked her up that day, she asked me about it. I explained it to her. He never would call her Rory, it was always Mary. When her and Dean broke up because she couldn't tell him that she loved him, she went to her first Chilton party. The way that Rory tells the story, blondie's girlfriend at the time broke up with him in front of everyone. They both found themselves on a piano bench and they kissed." She said, and I nodded. "When they kissed, she ran away crying. After that, he did everything he could to get her to go out with him. When she wouldn't…he started hanging out with his idiot friends and that's when he got sent to military school." Lorelai said.

I glanced over and watch Rory and Tristan for a minute. "Do you think that if he hadn't gone to military school that they would've ended up together?" I asked her.

"Honestly? I don't know. I'm that you've figured out by now that Rory can be complicated. She's not always great at expressing her feelings…she unfortunately gets that from me." She says, and I nod. "But I will say this…I like you. I think that your good for her, despite my feelings about this world. If you care for her like I think that you do…be ready to fight for her." Lorelai said.

She turned to walk away. "Lorelai?" I said, and she turned back towards me. "Thank you." I said. She smiled and then walked away. I stood there and watched Rory as the song finished playing and her and Tristan went their separate ways. She spotted me and walked towards me. "Enjoy your dance?" I asked her.

"It was strange. Not as good as when I'm dancing with you." She said. "Are you about ready to go? I wanna go home."

I nodded. "Yeah, let me just tell the guys that we're going. I think that they were only staying because of us." I said, and she nodded.

Rory POV

When Finn walked off to go tell the guys that we were leaving, I headed to go find the Grandparents and tell them that they were leaving. Fortunately, I found them along with Mom, Dad, and Luke. I could tell everyone bye all at one time. The grandparents told me to head home and relax and that they would all see me soon. Mom and Luke told me that they would see me next weekend for the wedding.

The ride back to Yale was quiet. I wasn't sure if it was all of the alcohol that I had consumed that night or if it was the fact that I had seen Tristan DuGrey for the first time in three years. I wasn't sure why I even cared. It wasn't like he had called or written in the time that he was at military school. I had to get him out of my head.

 _The next week was going to busy. Steph and I were checking out the apartment that she had found for us. I had mom and Luke's wedding. And then there was the LDB party. Lots going on…and finals were coming up._

A/N: Hope that you guys enjoyed that chapter. Next chapter…Hope to have it to you guys before the end of the weekend.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, so I hope that everyone is having a great Christmas. And here is my Christmas present to you…a new chapter of What if it was different. Merry Christmas.

Chapter 13

Rory POV

The morning after the announcement sucked. I didn't necessarily have a hangover, I just had an annoying headache that wouldn't go away without coffee. I climbed out of my bed and walked into my common room and started a pot of coffee. While I was waiting on my coffee, I headed to my bathroom to take a shower. After my shower, I threw on a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt and my tennis shoes. After getting dressed, I went back to my common room and fixed my cup of coffee. After getting my coffee, I headed back to my room and grabbed my phone. I flipped it open and looked for Steph's number. I called her.

"Morning girly. Sleep well?" She said when she answered.

"I've slept better." I said.

"Everything okay?" She asked me.

"I don't know. When do you want to head over to the apartment?"

"Now's good? You ready?"

"Yep. You want to head over together or meet there?"

"We can meet there. You have the address, right?" She said.

"Yeah I have it. I'll see you there." I said and hung up. I finished my coffee. I grabbed my blue jean jacket and put it on. I stuck my phone and my keys in my pocket and headed out the door. When I got to the apartment building, Steph was waiting for me out front. We went in and looked at the apartment. We decided to take it. After looking at the apartment, Steph and I headed over to the pub to grab some lunch. We grabbed a table and ordered.

"Okay, I give. What's up? Spill." Steph said.

"Okay, fine. So last night, I ran into someone that I haven't seen since high school and now my head is fuzzy." I said, as the waitress brought our drinks.

"Who was it?" She asked.

"Tristan DuGrey." I said. _Since all of us came from Hartford families there was a large chance that everyone knew each other. Then you add the LDB on top of that._

"Seriously?" She asked, and I nodded. "Well what happened?"

"We talked a little. Then we danced." I said.

"You like him?" She asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I guess part of me did in high school, but then he left and went to military school. Now? I don't know. He seems different. But it doesn't matter. I'm happy with Finn." I said.

"But?"

"I don't know. I mean, I guess that part of me wonders if there could have been anything between the two of us." I told her, and she nodded.

"I can understand that. I'm not saying that you should break up with Finn and find out but…you know, maybe if the subject ever comes up tell him your feelings on it." Steph said.

I looked at her confused. "Did he say something?" I asked her, knowing that Finn would talk to her more than he would the guys.

The waitress brought our food and she shook her head. "Not him. Colin. He said that Finn seemed kinda off when he saw you and Tristan dancing last night." She said, and I nodded. "Maybe talk to him."

"Yeah I will. I don't want things to be weird between us, especially since we're going to my mom's wedding this weekend." I said.

After lunch, Steph headed to go shopping for furniture for our apartment while I headed back to my dorm. I had an article to write for the paper. As I approached my dorm, I was surprised to see Finn standing there. "Hey." I said, when I got to my door.

He had his hands in his pockets. "Hey, I hadn't heard from you all day. I wanted to make sure that you're okay." He said.

I nodded. "Yeah, just been out with Steph. We went to look at an apartment and then we had lunch at the pub." I told him, fiddling with my keys in my hand.

"Oh…okay. Did you guys find one?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's over at Old Campus. It's nice." I said, and he nodded. I knew that it still bothered him that I wasn't going to be moving in with him in the fall.

"That's good." He said. I smiled at him. "I need to ask you something that's been on my mind since last night." He said, and I nodded. "What's going on with you and Tristan?" He asked.

"There's nothing going on. We went to high school together. We kissed one night. He tried to get me to go out with him. Got sent to military school. Last night was the first time that I have seen or heard from him in three years." I said. "I won't lie though. After seeing him it made me think about how I felt when he left." He nodded.

"I have to go." He said and started to walk past me when I grabbed his arm.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"Last night, when the two of you were dancing…there was a spark. I could see it…Logan and Colin could see it. And now? Now, your telling me that you had feelings for him three years ago." Finn said.

"That I never acted on." I said. "Have I thought about what could have been? Sure. But I haven't seen or heard from him since he left."

"Until last night."

"Yes." I said.

"I need to process this. I'll call you later." He said and walked away.

Once he had left my building, I stood there shocked. "What just happened?" I asked myself.

Finn POV

After talking to Rory, I couldn't believe it. Lorelai had been right. Rory did have feelings for Tristan and last night it had been obvious that he had feelings for her. I didn't know what to do. Rory had admitted that she had never acted on those feelings, but it didn't change the fact.

After I left her in the hallway in front of her dorm, I headed over to the pub. Colin was sitting at the bar. I walked over and joined him. "Hey." I said.

"Hey what's up?" He said.

"Just came from talking to Ror." I said, and he nodded. "You were right. Rory told me that three years ago before he left for military school that she had feelings for him." I told him as the bartender sat my usual in front of me.

"And now that he's back?" Colin asked.

"She wonders what would've happened if he hadn't left." I said, downing my drink.

"What're you gonna do?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's Rory. I really care about her. Lorelai talked to me last night about it. She basically told me that if I cared about Rory the way that she thought I did, that I should be prepared to fight for her."

"And are you?" Colin asked.

I thought about it for a minute. "I think I am. I mean, it's not like he really knows her that well." I said.

"Then I think you have your answer." Colin said.

Rory POV

I was sitting on the couch in my dorm watching _The Notebook_ when Paris walked in. "Hey." I said.

She walked over and sat with me on the couch. "Hey. So, I heard Tristan was at the party last night." Paris said.

"Who'd you hear it from Robert or Tristan?" I asked her.

She glared at me. "Robert. Look Tristan and I only email about once a month." She said, and I nodded. "How was it seeing him?"

"It was nice, but it brought back some feelings that I had for him before he left." I said.

"Look, I can honestly say that he's changed. Military school was good for him. It helped him grow up. He's not the same immature teenager that he was." Paris said. "What does this mean for you and Finn?"

"I don't know. He came by earlier and we talked. He said that he had to think and then left. I don't know what's going on to be honest." I said. "I gotta pack." I told her, and she nodded. I got up and went to my room. All of the LDB group was leaving the next afternoon for the event and I still hadn't packed for it.

The event this time was the roaring 20s. Steph and I had spent weeks trying to find the perfect dresses. After finally finding a vintage costume shop in New York we found our dresses. Once I'd finished packing, I realized that I was still tired from the night before and headed to bed.

The next afternoon, when I walked into my dorm, Steph was waiting on my couch. "You ready?" She asked me when I walked in.

"Yeah. Just gotta grab my stuff." I said, walking to my room to grab my duffel and my dress bag. When I walked back out, I said "Alright let's go."

"Great. Jules and Rose are waiting for us." She said as we were walking out the door.

"What about the guys?" I asked.

"They left this morning. They had to finish setting up." She said and I nodded. We walked out to the parking lot, where Jules and Rose were waiting in an SUV.

The drive out to the event was quiet. I was lost in my thoughts, I guess. I hadn't talked to Finn since he'd left my dorm yesterday afternoon. Throughout the entire ride up to the event I stayed lost in my thoughts. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I realized that we had stopped. I climbed out of the SUV and grabbed my stuff. We walked into the hotel and checked in. I got my key card from the front desk and we headed up to our rooms. When I opened the door to my room and walked in, I was completely surprised. There were rose petals everywhere. I sat my duffel bag down and laid the dress bag over a chair. "Finn?" I called out. He walked out of the bedroom and stood there looking at me. "What is all of this?" I asked him.

He stood in the doorway to the bedroom. "Just hear me out." He said, and I nodded. "I owe you an apology. I was wrong yesterday to jump to conclusions about you and Tristan. I should have trusted that just because you had feelings for him three years ago that you do now." He said. "Ror, I don't ever want to do anything to push you away. I know that things have been crazy since you found out that you're the double heiress and I know that me acting jealous yesterday didn't help…I just want you to know that no matter what I'm here…and I'm prepared to fight for you if that's what it takes." He said.

I closed the distance between the two of us and I kissed him. This kiss was different than any kiss that I had ever had. This kiss showed that he was willing to do whatever it took to make our relationship work. We both pulled back from the kiss when breathing became difficult. I looked up into his eyes. "I love you, Finn Morgan." I said.

"And I you, Rory Gilmore-Hayden." He said.

A few hours later, Finn and I were getting ready for the night. Tonight, like usual would just be drinks, food and catching up with everyone. This event was different than most of the others. It would be a gathering of all LDB. Well current members that is. It was very seldom that the alumni members joined us for an event but every so often it did happen. I had already done my hair and makeup and had just put my dress on. It was a strapless blue and silver ballgown. I had even decided to wear the neckless and earrings that Finn had given me for our 6-month anniversary. I was sitting on the edge of our bed, putting my shoes on when I heard my phone. I flipped it open and saw a text from Steph.

 _***Showtime***_

I couldn't help but laugh about it. I closed my phone and walked out to the living area of our hotel room and saw that Finn was already gone. I grabbed the key card and stuck it in the top of my dress. I walked out of the hotel room and made my way to the elevator. I took the elevator down to the first floor. Tonight, we were meeting in the ballroom that they had. After stepping off the elevator, I made my way to the room. I desperately needed a drink. When I walked into the room. It was simple yet elegant. I saw Steph standing at the bar talking to Jules and Rose. I decided to join them.

When I got to the bar, Steph handed me a drink. "Your usual." She said.

"Thank you." I said, taking a drink. They went back to their conversation as I scanned the room. I saw people that we hadn't seen since the Christmas party. I was looking for Finn. But that was when I saw him. _Tristan._ He was here, which I knew that he would be. He was a member of Princeton's charter. I turned to Steph. "Have you seen Finn recently?" I asked her.

She looked around the room. She pointed across the room. "There." She said.

I nodded and headed in the direction of where she had pointed. I saw Finn standing there with Colin, Logan and Robert. I was walking toward them when something caught my attention. I turned around. "Rory." _Tristan._

"Hi Tristan. Enjoying the party?" I said.

"It's not bad. Better than the parties your grandmother hosts." He said.

"I agree with you there." I said.

"Listen, I was wondering if we could meet up sometime and catch up." He said.

"I don't know…"

"Come on. I promise to be a gentleman." He said.

"I'll think about it." I said. "I should go, I need to find Finn." I told him, turning around and walking away. I continued my walk and caught up with Finn.

"There's no way." I heard Colin say.

"He's right dude. It won't work. There's not enough rooms." Logan added.

"Hello boys." I said, when I joined them.

"Hi kitten." Finn said, placing his hand on the small of my back and kissing my temple.

"What're we talking about?" I asked.

"Summer. We're trying to figure out logistics for the beach party." Logan said.

"Well you don't have to count me. I'm out." I said.

"What? What do you mean you're out?" Colin asked.

"I have to be in Hartford this summer. Grandpa Straub is officially retiring, and I have to be at the firm to help my Dad." I said. They all looked sad. "Plus, I'm taking classes this summer."

"Trying to graduate early?" Finn asked me.

"That's the plan. Graduate next year and then law school in two years." I told them.

"Think you can do it?" Logan asked.

"Of course, she can. We both can." I heard Steph say as she joined our group.

"Absolutely. Dad wants to know if your joining me this summer." I said to Steph.

"Yeah. I am. I just have to meet my parents on the weekends at the vineyard." She said.

"Cool." I said. The rest of the night, we spent catching up with everyone. Around 3 a.m. I dragged Finn upstairs to bed.

That Friday after classes, I walked into Finn's dorm to see if he was ready to head to Hartford. Grandpa Straub had bought me a condo so that we didn't have to invade anyone's space. That and he said that I would need it during the summer. I told him that it wasn't necessary, that I could always stay with Mom and Luke, but he insisted. We loaded up in his SUV and headed out for the wedding. It was going to be a great weekend.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Okay, so it's not an extremely long chapter like I usually like to write but at least it's a new chapter. ICYMI I finally finished my ROGAN series. However, I wasn't quite ready to let go of that universe yet so I've started writing one-shots for that universe. Anywho, I hope that you guys like this chapter.

Chapter 14

Rory POV

It was the day of Mom and Luke's wedding. Finn and I had gotten up early and headed to Stars Hollow from my condo in Hartford, and I dropped Finn off at the diner so that he could help Luke get ready while I headed over to the Dragonfly to help Mom. When I got to the Dragonfly, Sookie was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the cake. I headed upstairs to the room that Mom had borrowed to get ready. When I walked in, Mom was in the bathroom with Lane. Lane was working on Mom's hair. "Good morning, best friend and bride." I said.

"Morning sweets. Your dress is hanging up." Mom said.

I nodded. "Thanks Mom. I'm going to do my hair and makeup and then I'll put it on." I told her. She nods. I grab my dress and walk out of the bathroom.

After putting my dress on, I walked back into the bathroom to talk to Mom. "How's things with Finn?" She asked me.

"There good. We had a little rough patch after the party last weekend but we worked through that." I said and Mom nodded. "I don't know Mom, it's just different than the other relationships that I've been in."

"I get it kid. So what are your plans this summer?" Mom asked.

"Well, Steph and I found an apartment. I'm taking classes this summer and helping Dad out at the firm. Then 4th of July, we're heading to the Vineyard to spend the weekend with Finn's family." I told her.

"Oh yeah, Luke and I will be there that weekend. Charlotte called and invited us." She said.

"That's nice." I said. After a few minutes of silence something occurred to me. "Mom…you don't think that Grandma's started picking out china patterns yet do you?" I asked. She shrugged. "Great." I said.

After the ceremony, Mom and Luke were sitting at a table in front of everyone. Finn and I were standing there by our table, we had just finished talking to Kirk. "I like him." Finn said.

I couldn't help but laugh. I noticed a familiar face that I hadn't seen in over a year, walking toward me. "Rory." Jess said.

I gave him a small smile, leaning into Finn's side. "Jess." I said. I felt Finn's arm tighten a little around me. "Finn, this is Luke's nephew Jess…Jess this is my boyfriend Finn." I said, introducing them.

They shook hands. "It's nice to meet you." Finn said, "I've heard a lot about you from Luke."

 _Luke and Finn had talked about Jess?_ "Yeah, well Luke likes to brag." Jess said.

 _Mom and Luke's wedding had been a success. The LDB party had been a success. The next two weeks were going to be busy. Finals were coming up and Steph and I had to move into our apartment. I felt like things were finally settling down. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any drama anytime soon._


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Okay, I know that it's been a while since I've written anything… let alone this story. I got really busy for a while, then there was some writer's block… but now I've got a little bit of free time. So, here is Chapter 15. This one was a little tough to write… Hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 15

Rory POV

The last two weeks of school had been a breeze. Finn understood that I needed my space to study and he gave it to me. Once finals were over, Steph and I were busy packing up our dorms so that we could transfer everything over to our apartment. We had two weeks before summer classes started. This gave us time to get moved and hopefully get our schedules worked out with my Dad. Steph and I would be working along side him this summer as his assistants. The only other thing that I had to do was, apparently I had to start attending board meetings. I wasn't thrilled about it, but it was part of the life. Fortunately for me, Grandpa Richard had agreed that I wouldn't have to start attending board meetings over at The Gilmore Group until next summer. I was happy about this because knowing me…I'd probably end up getting everything confused in my head.

Grandpa Straub continues to get worse. Even though Steph and I had our apartment, I would be spending most of my time at Grandma Francine's and Grandpa Straub's. Dad thought it was best for me to spend most of my time in Hartford this summer unless necessary for me to be elsewhere because of Grandpa's health. When I had explained this to both Steph and Finn, they both understood (knowing how important my family was to me). Mom on the other hand, thought I was a little too eager to want to spend that much time with the Hayden's.

6 weeks into summer, I was leaving campus to head back to Hartford when my cell rang. I answered it without looking at my caller ID….Turns out it was my dad. "Hello." I said when I answered.

"Ror, it's grandpa." He said.

I could feel the tears building up. "I'll be there as soon as I can Dad. I'm leaving campus now." I told him. I drove as fast as I could (without speeding) to get to Hartford. When I pulled into the driveway, Dad was standing outside. I got out of my car and walked over to him. Before I even got to Dad, I knew what he was about to tell me. "Grandpa?" I asked him.

He shook his head. I felt the tears fall. "I'm sorry kid. He passed not long after I hung up with you." Dad pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I couldn't believe it. Grandpa Straub was gone.

Dad led me into the house, where Grandma Francine was sitting at the dining room table with Elizabeth. She was my dad's sister who I hadn't seen in years. I turned and looked at my Dad, pulling him out of the room. "What is she doing here?" I whispered.

"Kiddo, she's here to pay her respects. Be nice." Dad whispered back.

"Dad, how am I supposed to be nice to someone that I haven't seen in years."

Dad let out a sigh. "I don't know kid, but what I do know is that Grandma needs us right now. Grandpa just died and right now she needs her family… and whether you like it or not Elizabeth is part of that family." Dad said and I nodded.

I spent a while with Dad, Grandma and (unfortunately) Elizabeth before I headed back to New Haven to tell everybody what was going on. When I got in my car to head home, I called Mom. I quickly told her that Grandpa had died and that Aunt Elizabeth was back. Mom was like me when it came to Elizabeth… we didn't like her. After getting off the phone with Mom, I continued my drive to my apartment that I shared with Stephanie. It was Friday night, so I knew that I wouldn't see Finn until late. Logan and Colin usually dragged him out to the pub. When I walked through the front door to the apartment, Steph was sitting on the couch.

When she looked up at me, I was sure that I had sadness written all over my face. "Ror? Are you okay?" She asked me, standing up.

The only thing I could do was shake my head. "No, I'm not. It's Grandpa Straub." I said.

Finn POV

Rory had been having a hard time lately. Granted, she'd reconciled with her father's parents… but it'd still been hard for her. Every since they'd reconciled and Rory had been spending time with them, Straub's health had been getting worse. Steph had been doing her best to help Rory keep her mind off of the fact that Straub was dying but we all knew that it was just a matter of time. She'd even been spending more time in Hartford than she'd normally do.

She'd called me this afternoon when she was leaving campus to let me know that she was headed to Hartford and that she'd be back late. I was worried about her. I wasn't sure how much more of the drives back and forth between here and Hartford that she could take. I could see that it was wearing on her… emotionally.

It was Friday night and the boys had dragged me out to the pub… despite my best efforts. I'd ordered my usual and I hadn't really been paying attention to what the boys had been talking about. "So…are you in?" I heard Logan ask.

I looked up from my drink at him. "Huh?" I said.

"Are you in for Poker night tomorrow?" Logan asked.

I shook my head. "Not this week. I'm taking Rory out to get her mind off everything with Straub." I said.

They both nodded. "How's she doing with all of it?" Colin asked.

I shrugged. "She has her good days and her bad. She's just been trying to be there for her dad. It's been harder on him." I said.

I was finishing the last of my drink, when my cell started ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Steph. It wasn't unusual for Steph to call me, but I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that this wasn't a typical call. I answered the call. "Hey Steph." I said.

"Finn, you need to come." She said. She was quiet… almost whispering.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's Rory. She came home a little while ago. And when she did… you could tell that she'd been crying. It's Straub, Finn… He's gone." Steph said.

"I'm on my way." I said and hung up. I looked up at Colin and Logan. "I gotta go." I said, jumping up and running out the door.

When I got to Rory and Steph's apartment, Steph let me in. She pointed me towards Rory's room and I walked down the hallway. When I got to her door, I took a deep breath before quietly opening the door, walking in and shutting it behind me. "Ror?" I said as I walked over to the bed and sat down. "Ror, honey?" I said.

She turned over and looked up at me. "He's gone, Finny." She said through tears.

"I know. Steph told me." I said and she nodded. "What can I do?" I asked.

She sat up in the bed. "I have to go back to Hartford tomorrow, help my Grandma with the funeral. Will you come with me?" She asked.

I pulled her to me. "You know that I will." I told her.


End file.
